Good morning all my little hibernators out there... it's time for an update.
I wish I could say I'm done with my acclimation phase. I wish I could say that I've stuck to this like glue. Here's the scoop. Monophasic sleeping is like Taco Bell. It's not healthy for you. It doesn't make you feel good. It's a hedonistic pleasure that holds only an immediate gain. And while the consequences are easily not worth the gains, it still takes will power and resolve to completely avoid the hedonistic pleasures completely. Add to that... if you are on a diet you unravel your successes when you Taco Bell binge. Monophasic sleep holds no benefits over polyphasic sleep that I am interested in. It takes more time, it breaks my schedule, it tires me, it depresses me. The only thing is, like Taco Bell, it periodically sings it's sweet, alluring song when I'm at my weakest. The penalty is great.
The loft is still a disaster. I'm going to right that this morning. More importantly, I stay stuck in what I feel like is the "almost acclimated" phase. The suggestion is that I quit and try again in a month. I have two words... f that. My goal is a complete week of NO errors.
I've decided that writing in the blog needs to be a more mandatory part of my routine to help ensure this.
I'm starting the day with coffee, oatmeal, and a grapefruit. I made a killer pork tenderloin roast with Julia yesterday, and am going to follow that up with stuffed cabbage rolls and then split pea soup... I LOVE split pea soup and never knew how friggin cheap it is to make...
Anyway... keep pulling for me everyone. The benefits to this I am 100% committed to.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 2010.01.29 Block 3
Well... It's an hour away from my nap and I'm getting tired. I think it's a good sign as I'll be able to stay up without a problem... but I am looking forward to my 5:30. I'll have no company tonight so I'll be focusing on finishing putting the loft back together (it's been a massive full on effort) and getting ready for my show Sunday.
My other task is really reorganizing my work effort into the four 5ish hour blocks in my day. I'm just poking at tasks that need to get done, but I have an opportunity here to really bang some stuff out.
Still not drinking enough water. Always something to work on I guess.
My other task is really reorganizing my work effort into the four 5ish hour blocks in my day. I'm just poking at tasks that need to get done, but I have an opportunity here to really bang some stuff out.
Still not drinking enough water. Always something to work on I guess.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 2010.01.29 Block 3
Naps are going really well... Murphy's Law of course states that when I'm organized and my phone isn't gonna die etc., I wake up without it. That's what this nap was like. It is also weird how, from the perspective of dream length, I can't tell a difference between hibernating and napping for 30. The only difference I can still tell is that when my alarm DOES go off, I can usually tell that I haven't been asleep that long. Now... maybe that's because I'm used to waking up in a hazy, sleepy daze when I sleep longer... and the absence of that makes me feel like I haven't gotten very far into sleep... Maybe it's because my environment hasn't changed much (like sunlight)... Maybe it's cause I'm in the same position as when I started. At the same time, I usually don't wake up from a nap TIRED... which is the real point.
In fact, the ONLY part that is still difficult at times is I will usually hit some sort of fatigue point during the day or night. Today's was in the mid morning... nighttime was fine. I'm obviously still in the acclimation phase and I totally expect that to disappear.
Back to work me... I talk to y'all soon.
In fact, the ONLY part that is still difficult at times is I will usually hit some sort of fatigue point during the day or night. Today's was in the mid morning... nighttime was fine. I'm obviously still in the acclimation phase and I totally expect that to disappear.
Back to work me... I talk to y'all soon.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 2010.01.29 Block 2
Ok... time to update the blog.
Despite periodic setbacks, including yesterday's where my iPhone died in that magical half hour of nappy land, therefore NOT alarming me, on a night I was particularly tired consequently sleeping for hours, I'm actually doing well. The fact that I seem to be able to rebound to my polyphasic schedule with increasing ease tells me I'm acclimating.
This past round of sleep held interesting dreaming results. While I don't think I had a lucid dream, the colors were VERY vivid and I felt like I was more conscious than I even remember. I even remember THINKING in the dream, "Wow. This is the most vivid dream I think I've ever had," and VERY slightly manipulated it's direction.
I have a lot going on in my life and I'm at a point where I'm going to start turning all these hours into productive ones. My updates will start shifting to how well my productivity runs.
I have a lot of work cut out for me... 5 major projects running concurrently, and I'm not organized. Besides the show Sunday, I'll spend today and the weekend trying to organize.
Workouts are good... I've added upper body toning via the bowflex.
If you look out the window on your left, you'll notice these points of interest.
• Diet is switching to all the nutrisystems I haven't eaten. When I'm outta those I should be in a good position as far as weight loss goes.
• I'm not drinking my water as I should. I have to do something about that.
• I've decided that, for now, if I'm tired in either of my night blocks, I'm going to drink coffee, as it doesn't seem to affect my sleep. It's more important to solidify this pattern of sleep than anything, and I have to do whatever I can to ensure that don't falter.
• I've really been happy with the general schedule and amazed how generally alert I am at all hours of the day. When I talk about it with people, and they speculate how hard they think it would be for them, I'm happy to contract them, and they nod and smile... but generally they just don't understand. Of course that's fine. I'm not looking to convert anyone... in fact, I'm not looking for this new time to be especially social. I thought, in the beginning, that it would be easier for me to do this with someone, but not anymore.
It's time to go kick some ass.
Despite periodic setbacks, including yesterday's where my iPhone died in that magical half hour of nappy land, therefore NOT alarming me, on a night I was particularly tired consequently sleeping for hours, I'm actually doing well. The fact that I seem to be able to rebound to my polyphasic schedule with increasing ease tells me I'm acclimating.
This past round of sleep held interesting dreaming results. While I don't think I had a lucid dream, the colors were VERY vivid and I felt like I was more conscious than I even remember. I even remember THINKING in the dream, "Wow. This is the most vivid dream I think I've ever had," and VERY slightly manipulated it's direction.
I have a lot going on in my life and I'm at a point where I'm going to start turning all these hours into productive ones. My updates will start shifting to how well my productivity runs.
I have a lot of work cut out for me... 5 major projects running concurrently, and I'm not organized. Besides the show Sunday, I'll spend today and the weekend trying to organize.
Workouts are good... I've added upper body toning via the bowflex.
If you look out the window on your left, you'll notice these points of interest.
• Diet is switching to all the nutrisystems I haven't eaten. When I'm outta those I should be in a good position as far as weight loss goes.
• I'm not drinking my water as I should. I have to do something about that.
• I've decided that, for now, if I'm tired in either of my night blocks, I'm going to drink coffee, as it doesn't seem to affect my sleep. It's more important to solidify this pattern of sleep than anything, and I have to do whatever I can to ensure that don't falter.
• I've really been happy with the general schedule and amazed how generally alert I am at all hours of the day. When I talk about it with people, and they speculate how hard they think it would be for them, I'm happy to contract them, and they nod and smile... but generally they just don't understand. Of course that's fine. I'm not looking to convert anyone... in fact, I'm not looking for this new time to be especially social. I thought, in the beginning, that it would be easier for me to do this with someone, but not anymore.
It's time to go kick some ass.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 10 start
Sorry for the break in writing... Massive overhaul of the loft... trashing a lot of stuff collected across the ages. My goal is a tranquil, clean, simple environment to better ease this transition...
Some new things. I finally started to noticably lose weight... I've consistently weighed in at 251 for over a day now... that's 14 lbs from my heaviest. As I have a lot of nutrisystem meals left over from when I was on the program, I'm going to switch most of my meals to that... until they are gone/mostly gone. That'll help with having to worry about buying/cooking for the moment, and it will aid in portion control.
As well, I've started using my bowflex as part of my workouts... nothing too extravagant, and all upper body... the legs are getting all the workout on the bike. It's felt good, and I'd like to incorporate the bike, the bowflex, and stretching into all 4 workouts. I'm not quite there yet, and sometimes I skip a workout, but I'm getting there. Trying not to overdo it.
The loft still has a ways to go... I'll be working on it tomorrow too.
Til then......
Some new things. I finally started to noticably lose weight... I've consistently weighed in at 251 for over a day now... that's 14 lbs from my heaviest. As I have a lot of nutrisystem meals left over from when I was on the program, I'm going to switch most of my meals to that... until they are gone/mostly gone. That'll help with having to worry about buying/cooking for the moment, and it will aid in portion control.
As well, I've started using my bowflex as part of my workouts... nothing too extravagant, and all upper body... the legs are getting all the workout on the bike. It's felt good, and I'd like to incorporate the bike, the bowflex, and stretching into all 4 workouts. I'm not quite there yet, and sometimes I skip a workout, but I'm getting there. Trying not to overdo it.
The loft still has a ways to go... I'll be working on it tomorrow too.
Til then......
Monday, January 25, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 8 start
Well it's approaching 5a.
Yesterday went fairly well. Slept decently in my car before the bridal show began. I am tired though... My breaking of the rules is costing me somewhat. My body, while ABLE to abide with 4 short naps, is definitely not conditioned yet... it's still punishing me. All my resolve will have to go towards making it through this period.
I took a day off the exercise. I wanted to give myself a little bit of a break. I have no idea if it helped or hurt, but it was harder to get on the bike five hours ago.
Sleep – 25 minutes.
Fatigue – yep.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, despite the time off, butt did NOT like.
3.97 miles
182 calories
31.9 carbs
Weight - 261 lbs
Food - Butter Chicken (homemake by yours truly, but not well)
Mood - Neutral
Health - sore throat
I am thankful that getting up is NOT the hard part of this for me. I was very concerned that my inability to make good choices when comatose would be the real issue for me successfully partaking in this experiment. Really the hardest part is battling the fatigue while you acclimate. Thankfully this is also not a critical week and I'll have help and the bridal show a week from yesterday.
Another item on my agenda that I think will help (although it's gonna require it's own acclimation phase... sigh) is addressing my posture. As I sit at my desk slumping, my body want to lay down because that is more comfortable. Of course I will not do that as it obviously puts me in a bad situation with potentially falling asleep. I think as I get more and more fit, and I improve (re: fix) my posture, it will be easier and easier to adapt to a much more upright life.
I'm also reconsidering caffeine. It doesn't SEEM to hinder my sleeping, and if that helps get through this period successfully, I'll dump it again when it's not longer necessary.
So I have 40 mins before my 5:35 nap. Gonna do something to wake myself up for it.
Yesterday went fairly well. Slept decently in my car before the bridal show began. I am tired though... My breaking of the rules is costing me somewhat. My body, while ABLE to abide with 4 short naps, is definitely not conditioned yet... it's still punishing me. All my resolve will have to go towards making it through this period.
I took a day off the exercise. I wanted to give myself a little bit of a break. I have no idea if it helped or hurt, but it was harder to get on the bike five hours ago.
Sleep – 25 minutes.
Fatigue – yep.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, despite the time off, butt did NOT like.
3.97 miles
182 calories
31.9 carbs
Weight - 261 lbs
Food - Butter Chicken (homemake by yours truly, but not well)
Mood - Neutral
Health - sore throat
I am thankful that getting up is NOT the hard part of this for me. I was very concerned that my inability to make good choices when comatose would be the real issue for me successfully partaking in this experiment. Really the hardest part is battling the fatigue while you acclimate. Thankfully this is also not a critical week and I'll have help and the bridal show a week from yesterday.
Another item on my agenda that I think will help (although it's gonna require it's own acclimation phase... sigh) is addressing my posture. As I sit at my desk slumping, my body want to lay down because that is more comfortable. Of course I will not do that as it obviously puts me in a bad situation with potentially falling asleep. I think as I get more and more fit, and I improve (re: fix) my posture, it will be easier and easier to adapt to a much more upright life.
I'm also reconsidering caffeine. It doesn't SEEM to hinder my sleeping, and if that helps get through this period successfully, I'll dump it again when it's not longer necessary.
So I have 40 mins before my 5:35 nap. Gonna do something to wake myself up for it.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 7, Block 2 start
5:30 - 6:00a nap went off without a hitch. Once again it's early in the morning and I woke up easily (considering my iPhones 'End of the World' alarm tone) and without drowsiness or fatigue. I even went into the kitchen and chopped 3 mostly frozen chicken breasts up into cubes with a very sharp 10" Chefs knife without any issue. Completely alert... focused...
Won't ride the bike until after the bridal show so that'll be after the 5:30p nap... 12 hours away. The only real thing to note here is my easy return to the 25-30 minute naps without further fatigue issues.
Based on what I wrote about polyphasic sleep in the last post, it looks like I'll have to spend some thought on what to do when those inevitable phases of desire to be in bed crop up. ADD makes you prone to wanna give in to hedonistic desires, so I'll have to offer myself some other carrot to stay out of bed.
I'd also really like a pair of bluetooth headphones. I wish I'd asked for some for Christmas. I'm currently tethered to my laptop which isn't that close so there is little slack in the headphone cord. They would also work nicely with my iPhone in the car for those trips up north etc. I'm picky, though, so I need time to figure out which ones I'd like... Why am I posting this? Only because music really seems to help me focus in general, and, though my environment is usually not shared at this hour... sometimes it is and it's just one of those things that someone on a polyphasic schedule would often employ. It makes total sense to me how polyphasic sleepers begin to feel like they lead very different lives from the rest of the world. I've had 5.5 hours between my 12:00a waking to my 5:30a nap. 5.5 hours of doing what I want time while most people are sleeping for the entire time.
Organization in my life is becoming more and more important. Without it, you end up awake in the middle of the night knowing there is stuff you should or could be doing, but without organization you are a little aimless. Middle of the night aimlessness is weird. You have to be up, the world is dark and still, and you're not doing anything. So far, I've been letting myself watch things on Netflix and other silly stuff so acclimation was easier. Soon I'll have to be more productive, as I really don't see that it's been that difficult so far to operate on this crazy schedule. List making, which I've been meaning to focus more on will be very helpful.
My next post will likely not be til either just before my 5:30p nap or after. I haven't found my sleep mask so we'll see how well the 11:30a nap in the car goes.
Won't ride the bike until after the bridal show so that'll be after the 5:30p nap... 12 hours away. The only real thing to note here is my easy return to the 25-30 minute naps without further fatigue issues.
Based on what I wrote about polyphasic sleep in the last post, it looks like I'll have to spend some thought on what to do when those inevitable phases of desire to be in bed crop up. ADD makes you prone to wanna give in to hedonistic desires, so I'll have to offer myself some other carrot to stay out of bed.
I'd also really like a pair of bluetooth headphones. I wish I'd asked for some for Christmas. I'm currently tethered to my laptop which isn't that close so there is little slack in the headphone cord. They would also work nicely with my iPhone in the car for those trips up north etc. I'm picky, though, so I need time to figure out which ones I'd like... Why am I posting this? Only because music really seems to help me focus in general, and, though my environment is usually not shared at this hour... sometimes it is and it's just one of those things that someone on a polyphasic schedule would often employ. It makes total sense to me how polyphasic sleepers begin to feel like they lead very different lives from the rest of the world. I've had 5.5 hours between my 12:00a waking to my 5:30a nap. 5.5 hours of doing what I want time while most people are sleeping for the entire time.
Organization in my life is becoming more and more important. Without it, you end up awake in the middle of the night knowing there is stuff you should or could be doing, but without organization you are a little aimless. Middle of the night aimlessness is weird. You have to be up, the world is dark and still, and you're not doing anything. So far, I've been letting myself watch things on Netflix and other silly stuff so acclimation was easier. Soon I'll have to be more productive, as I really don't see that it's been that difficult so far to operate on this crazy schedule. List making, which I've been meaning to focus more on will be very helpful.
My next post will likely not be til either just before my 5:30p nap or after. I haven't found my sleep mask so we'll see how well the 11:30a nap in the car goes.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 6 remainder
I waited to post the days events as it was quite a day of learning.
Woke up great... energized... and at 6:30 was prodding Julia to go out for breakfast. Amazingly she obliged, as she herself is trying to start her days earlier. by 7:30 we were customers number 1 and 2 at the coney across the street.
I had a nice big Sausage Omelette with corned beef hash inserted. Now I know that certainly violates the "no processed foods" rule (it doesn't really get MORE processed than CBH), but I was in the mood for some celebration. I was feeling great on 3 hours of total sleep in 36 hours. I ate just over half the omelette. I had no caffeine.
By the time we got back to the loft, I was seriously feeling sleepy, unmotivated, and unfocused. Being a Saturday, I wistfully started longing for some lounging in bed. Ignoring whatever possible judgement I should have had, I laid down. Mind you, while I WAS experiencing certainly some food coma effects from breakfast, in no way did I FEEL like I was responding to my body trying to get sleep on it's previous schedule. This felt much more like I was missing the LUXURY of being able to enjoy not HAVING to be up.
Well... this whole mistake I'm really glad I made. Today yielded more revelation than any day so far.
First though... the consequences of my actions. I DID fall asleep... from roughly 9a to 10:30ish. I felt horrible. I stayed in bed until my next naptime. Awaking from that I felt even worse. I was TIRED. I was lethargic... poorly thinking... The most notable feeling, however, is that I felt EXACTLY like I did getting monophasic sleep. I hadn't felt this for almost a week now, but as I was focused on dealing with the challenges of acclimating to this new way of life, I was only noting that I certainly felt much better, but, as my good friend Jack commented, I've been tempering any excitement so that I stayed on my guard so to speak against complacency.
So now the revelations. And mind you... I'm not drinkin koolaid here... I've some sobering thoughts about polyphasic sleep too...
one) Monophasic sleep SUCKS. I'm sure there are some of you out there that after your hours and hours of hibernation, wake up perfectly refreshed, ready and rarin to go. I was never one of those. Even on those days that I didn't get up to an alarm or any other intrusion, I always woke up groggy. I always was slow. I longed for a refreshing, energetic start to my day, but honestly I felt like that must mean that the energy and freshness occurred not too far after I got up. And that's pretty much the best I ever achieved with monophasic sleep.
I want to quickly interject something here. I am not the kind of person that requires avoidance for an hour or two after getting up so I can have a couple cups of coffee and such. I'm personable and capable in the mornings. I don't require sacrifices from the people around me to interact. I can be quick to get ready. I'm not moody. BUT. These personality traits don't come from the fact that I wake up energized. They come from inside me and my belief that people around me shouldn't have to suffer because I don't call myself a "morning person." For the people that really know me, they know I'm much more of a night person than a morning one. I still don't believe others should suffer.
On polyphasic sleep so far, I've been getting up so well after that 25-30 minutes of sleep that I was initially doubting I COULD be getting much in terms of quality sleep, but that I would acclimate. NOW I believe I have been getting decent sleep, and that I AM acclimating. If I weren't, I don't think I'd be very energized at the end of 36 hours where I saw 3 hours of sleep. If that's all true, I am so much MORE of a conscious, happy, energetic person when I awake from that nap. It's truly amazing.
two) I think I am acclimating well. Despite some missteps, and I'm still going to ACT as strict as possible, I seem to have recovered from my morning a couple naps later. It's 3 friggin 45 in the morning and I'm clear as a bell. Don't get me wrong... the DAY today kinda sucked because of poor choices this morning... but it sucked cause of the extended sleep I stupidly got.
three) While I certainly think this applies to all of us, being on a polyphasic schedule I think makes it much more noticeable, WHAT you eat has a huge impact on your body and your energy level. This sounds kind of stupid to say, but I think that breakfasts like the one I had today really created that lethargic desire to just go lie down and enjoy some downtime. When I was on a monophasic schedule, I would (probably I'm guessing) come home after a breakfast like todays and plop down for a nap. It would be later in the day cause I wasn't UP at 6a on a Saturday... and I would have still felt so groggy and bad afterward, but it was hardly noticeable as I was ALWAYS feeling groggy and bad after sleep in general. Having that be the norm for me I never realized how much extra I was losing in my day because of a poor meal choice.
four) I have realized a downside to polyphasic sleep. It MAY be what the other writers/bloggers have meant when they talk about a new way of life, and a lot of you monophasics are gonna jump all over this, which is fine, but today made me realize that when you choose this lifestyle, you can't temporarily just go back to enjoy some of the now-and-then niceties of the old one. I don't really mean this from the standpoint of the mechanics of short vs long sleep. Yes... if you sleep for a couple hours, you'll mess yourself up and it takes a couple naps to recover blah blah blah. I mean, if you WANT the benefits of the energy and time and focus from polyphasic sleep, you really have to give up on taking a break from life and reality. There really is no shut down. I'm not really talking about the unconscious time when you're hibernating either... I think I'm more talking about all the time where you're in bed, moving in and out of sleep... enjoying the warm covers, enjoying the removal from the world in which you live. If you're not sleeping deeply, as you're often not when you just decide to sleep in... you CAN consciously appreciate just being in bed as you drift in and out of some semblance of sleep. From my experience today, the downsides of sometimes doing this were NOT worth the hedonistic benefits I received. As busy as I am... with as much as I feel there is to do out there in the world... it's still kind of nice sometimes to flip the switch to OFF. Now... it's CERTAINLY possible that once I'm fully acclimated I'll change how I feel on this point. I'm in no position to feel like I'm expert on anything pertaining to this subject, except that I don't like how I feel on monophasic sleep, now that I've experienced an alternative.
If I have to make a commitment to a lifestyle where there is no real break from the world, and that's a very serious commitment to make... much more so I believe than the commitment to go through the pain of acclimation, then I will. I think that will be more to adjust to than anything else though.
five) no bed head. :) It's kind of a giveaway though... If I come outta the loft groggy with bed head... someone's been a naughty boy. But yea... 25-30 minutes is just not enough to press that hair into interesting directions and shapes.
So... I feel great (now at 4:11). I have a bridal show today and no one to help me at the booth, so it will be interesting to see how I do. It's the first real test of having to work my nap into inflexible events in my life. Basically, I'll be setting up my booth and then leaving it at 11:20 to 12:10 to go take a nap in broad daylight in my car, leaving my booth unattended. Is it a big deal... I really don't think so. We'll see.
I took the day off from the bike to give my legs and butt a rest. Tomorrow I'll be back at that. I'm a little sad that I haven't seen ANY weight loss really after a week of 3-4 times a day on the bloody thing... but I have people to help me figure that part out.
Til the next block.... stay well all you little hibernators out there.
Woke up great... energized... and at 6:30 was prodding Julia to go out for breakfast. Amazingly she obliged, as she herself is trying to start her days earlier. by 7:30 we were customers number 1 and 2 at the coney across the street.
I had a nice big Sausage Omelette with corned beef hash inserted. Now I know that certainly violates the "no processed foods" rule (it doesn't really get MORE processed than CBH), but I was in the mood for some celebration. I was feeling great on 3 hours of total sleep in 36 hours. I ate just over half the omelette. I had no caffeine.
By the time we got back to the loft, I was seriously feeling sleepy, unmotivated, and unfocused. Being a Saturday, I wistfully started longing for some lounging in bed. Ignoring whatever possible judgement I should have had, I laid down. Mind you, while I WAS experiencing certainly some food coma effects from breakfast, in no way did I FEEL like I was responding to my body trying to get sleep on it's previous schedule. This felt much more like I was missing the LUXURY of being able to enjoy not HAVING to be up.
Well... this whole mistake I'm really glad I made. Today yielded more revelation than any day so far.
First though... the consequences of my actions. I DID fall asleep... from roughly 9a to 10:30ish. I felt horrible. I stayed in bed until my next naptime. Awaking from that I felt even worse. I was TIRED. I was lethargic... poorly thinking... The most notable feeling, however, is that I felt EXACTLY like I did getting monophasic sleep. I hadn't felt this for almost a week now, but as I was focused on dealing with the challenges of acclimating to this new way of life, I was only noting that I certainly felt much better, but, as my good friend Jack commented, I've been tempering any excitement so that I stayed on my guard so to speak against complacency.
So now the revelations. And mind you... I'm not drinkin koolaid here... I've some sobering thoughts about polyphasic sleep too...
one) Monophasic sleep SUCKS. I'm sure there are some of you out there that after your hours and hours of hibernation, wake up perfectly refreshed, ready and rarin to go. I was never one of those. Even on those days that I didn't get up to an alarm or any other intrusion, I always woke up groggy. I always was slow. I longed for a refreshing, energetic start to my day, but honestly I felt like that must mean that the energy and freshness occurred not too far after I got up. And that's pretty much the best I ever achieved with monophasic sleep.
I want to quickly interject something here. I am not the kind of person that requires avoidance for an hour or two after getting up so I can have a couple cups of coffee and such. I'm personable and capable in the mornings. I don't require sacrifices from the people around me to interact. I can be quick to get ready. I'm not moody. BUT. These personality traits don't come from the fact that I wake up energized. They come from inside me and my belief that people around me shouldn't have to suffer because I don't call myself a "morning person." For the people that really know me, they know I'm much more of a night person than a morning one. I still don't believe others should suffer.
On polyphasic sleep so far, I've been getting up so well after that 25-30 minutes of sleep that I was initially doubting I COULD be getting much in terms of quality sleep, but that I would acclimate. NOW I believe I have been getting decent sleep, and that I AM acclimating. If I weren't, I don't think I'd be very energized at the end of 36 hours where I saw 3 hours of sleep. If that's all true, I am so much MORE of a conscious, happy, energetic person when I awake from that nap. It's truly amazing.
two) I think I am acclimating well. Despite some missteps, and I'm still going to ACT as strict as possible, I seem to have recovered from my morning a couple naps later. It's 3 friggin 45 in the morning and I'm clear as a bell. Don't get me wrong... the DAY today kinda sucked because of poor choices this morning... but it sucked cause of the extended sleep I stupidly got.
three) While I certainly think this applies to all of us, being on a polyphasic schedule I think makes it much more noticeable, WHAT you eat has a huge impact on your body and your energy level. This sounds kind of stupid to say, but I think that breakfasts like the one I had today really created that lethargic desire to just go lie down and enjoy some downtime. When I was on a monophasic schedule, I would (probably I'm guessing) come home after a breakfast like todays and plop down for a nap. It would be later in the day cause I wasn't UP at 6a on a Saturday... and I would have still felt so groggy and bad afterward, but it was hardly noticeable as I was ALWAYS feeling groggy and bad after sleep in general. Having that be the norm for me I never realized how much extra I was losing in my day because of a poor meal choice.
four) I have realized a downside to polyphasic sleep. It MAY be what the other writers/bloggers have meant when they talk about a new way of life, and a lot of you monophasics are gonna jump all over this, which is fine, but today made me realize that when you choose this lifestyle, you can't temporarily just go back to enjoy some of the now-and-then niceties of the old one. I don't really mean this from the standpoint of the mechanics of short vs long sleep. Yes... if you sleep for a couple hours, you'll mess yourself up and it takes a couple naps to recover blah blah blah. I mean, if you WANT the benefits of the energy and time and focus from polyphasic sleep, you really have to give up on taking a break from life and reality. There really is no shut down. I'm not really talking about the unconscious time when you're hibernating either... I think I'm more talking about all the time where you're in bed, moving in and out of sleep... enjoying the warm covers, enjoying the removal from the world in which you live. If you're not sleeping deeply, as you're often not when you just decide to sleep in... you CAN consciously appreciate just being in bed as you drift in and out of some semblance of sleep. From my experience today, the downsides of sometimes doing this were NOT worth the hedonistic benefits I received. As busy as I am... with as much as I feel there is to do out there in the world... it's still kind of nice sometimes to flip the switch to OFF. Now... it's CERTAINLY possible that once I'm fully acclimated I'll change how I feel on this point. I'm in no position to feel like I'm expert on anything pertaining to this subject, except that I don't like how I feel on monophasic sleep, now that I've experienced an alternative.
If I have to make a commitment to a lifestyle where there is no real break from the world, and that's a very serious commitment to make... much more so I believe than the commitment to go through the pain of acclimation, then I will. I think that will be more to adjust to than anything else though.
five) no bed head. :) It's kind of a giveaway though... If I come outta the loft groggy with bed head... someone's been a naughty boy. But yea... 25-30 minutes is just not enough to press that hair into interesting directions and shapes.
So... I feel great (now at 4:11). I have a bridal show today and no one to help me at the booth, so it will be interesting to see how I do. It's the first real test of having to work my nap into inflexible events in my life. Basically, I'll be setting up my booth and then leaving it at 11:20 to 12:10 to go take a nap in broad daylight in my car, leaving my booth unattended. Is it a big deal... I really don't think so. We'll see.
I took the day off from the bike to give my legs and butt a rest. Tomorrow I'll be back at that. I'm a little sad that I haven't seen ANY weight loss really after a week of 3-4 times a day on the bloody thing... but I have people to help me figure that part out.
Til the next block.... stay well all you little hibernators out there.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 6, Block 1 end
Well I made it... perhaps thanks to listening to Conan but I'm surprised how, while tired, I didn't get hit with any surprising challenges.
Let's see if I have difficulty getting up.
Stats
Fatigue – medium to strong
Food - Apple with peanut butter, Turkish coffee gelato
Water - 24 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Good
Health - fine
Focus - Medium
Energy - Medium
Let's see if I have difficulty getting up.
Stats
Fatigue – medium to strong
Food - Apple with peanut butter, Turkish coffee gelato
Water - 24 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Good
Health - fine
Focus - Medium
Energy - Medium
Life Experiment 01 - Day 6, Block 1 start
Well getting up was no problem. I had a slightly harder time falling asleep probably from watching the Office. I did sleep though, followed by a dedicated workout. I think my body is going to rebel tonight. I'm ready for it... the sooner the lessons get learned the better I am.
I actually feel pretty good, despite a little yawning.
Stats
Sleep – 25 minutes.
Fatigue – some fatigue.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, my butt continues to think the whole thing is a bad idea.
4.16 miles
191 calories
33.5 carbs
Weight - 261 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice
Mood - Neutral
Health - fine
I may check in with a midway post as the night goes on.
I actually feel pretty good, despite a little yawning.
Stats
Sleep – 25 minutes.
Fatigue – some fatigue.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, my butt continues to think the whole thing is a bad idea.
4.16 miles
191 calories
33.5 carbs
Weight - 261 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice
Mood - Neutral
Health - fine
I may check in with a midway post as the night goes on.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 4 end
Well Julia came over and helped keep me from getting too bored. Fatigue is there and I know this night is going to be a lot harder than last night. I will not give in. I will not take any extra nap. I will get up.
Stats
Fatigue – medium to strong
Food - 4 oz of fresh coconut gelato, about a million calories
Water - 24 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Dim
Health - stomach ache subsiding
Focus - Medium
Energy - Medium
Watched the latest Office episode right before bed. Probably should have not watched something that was gonna wake me up. Mental Clarity = 0.
Stats
Fatigue – medium to strong
Food - 4 oz of fresh coconut gelato, about a million calories
Water - 24 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Dim
Health - stomach ache subsiding
Focus - Medium
Energy - Medium
Watched the latest Office episode right before bed. Probably should have not watched something that was gonna wake me up. Mental Clarity = 0.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 4 start
Well... I awoke well and began to think about what I've been able to accomplish so far... even with my setback yesterday, I've slept 3 hours in the last 36 and been very functional... not attempted to be functional but had to fight massive fatigue. Even though I know I have a long way to go, I have to stand back and be impressed.
Despite all that, I felt fatigued before working out and I still have a moderately upset stomach. I don't know if it was lunch or just my body's current attempt at sabotage. I can tell you this, there is NOTHING that's gonna convince me to break my regiment tonight. So body... bring it.
I'll have McD's again maybe next Friday (if I'm feeling normal) and try to assess it's impact on my system.
I also wanted to add for those that are curious... If I don't note an exception all I'm drinking is water.
Stats
Sleep – 25 minutes.
Fatigue – some fatigue.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, butt a little better.
4.14 miles
190 calories
33.3 carbs
Weight - 261 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice
Mood - Neutral
Health - upset stomach
Of course we're entering the evening phase which becomes a little tougher. Last night went well, but I certainly think it's a ruse to catch me off guard. I expect tonight to be much tougher.
The general REALLY positive news in all this is I sleep well. I haven't remembered dreaming the last couple naps, but I don't fight to fall asleep either. As long as I sleep well for those naps and get REM sleep, I can't fail.
I am curious, however, why more people don't try the Dymaxion method (4 30 minute naps per day) over the Uberman method (6 20 minute naps per day). The Dymaxion seems FAR less intrusive to me. Not only do nap times fall at better times as far as I'm concerned, there is some time overhead to each nap... the PRE nap activities (undressing, relaxing etc.) and the POST nap activities (reorientation, redressing etc.). Not much has been said about this from the reading I've done. Steve Pavlina did comment that he was not able to move from Uberman to Dymaxion, but it appeared as though he only gave it a few days, when in fact it's possible that one might need to go through an entire new acclimation period. It certainly makes sense. You've taught your body when it should expect sleep and now you're significantly changing that again. I don't think Steve was REALLY interested in the Dymaxion cycle, which is completely understandable, so he just didn't pursue it. The author of Ubersleep, as well, went from Uberman (her favorite) to Everyman (her compromise). While she has nothing particularly critical to say about Dymaxion, she also doesn't address why she didn't consider that schedule. It worried me a little, and from the start Uberman is my backup if for some reason I have issues with Dymaxion, but I have to tell ya, so far it seems as this schedule is completely feasible.
More loft cleaning tonight. Let me be clear about one other thing. My productivity and initiative are noticeably up. I'm allowing the possibility that this could be because of my intrigue and desire for this to work, so I'm not forcing a conclusion, but it is worth nothing. I've been wanting to clean that loft for... let's see here... oh yea... a long time. Granted there is a long way to go before I'll call it clean, but initiating a project that I'm not looking forward to is always a big stumbling block for me.
Despite all that, I felt fatigued before working out and I still have a moderately upset stomach. I don't know if it was lunch or just my body's current attempt at sabotage. I can tell you this, there is NOTHING that's gonna convince me to break my regiment tonight. So body... bring it.
I'll have McD's again maybe next Friday (if I'm feeling normal) and try to assess it's impact on my system.
I also wanted to add for those that are curious... If I don't note an exception all I'm drinking is water.
Stats
Sleep – 25 minutes.
Fatigue – some fatigue.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, butt a little better.
4.14 miles
190 calories
33.3 carbs
Weight - 261 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice
Mood - Neutral
Health - upset stomach
Of course we're entering the evening phase which becomes a little tougher. Last night went well, but I certainly think it's a ruse to catch me off guard. I expect tonight to be much tougher.
The general REALLY positive news in all this is I sleep well. I haven't remembered dreaming the last couple naps, but I don't fight to fall asleep either. As long as I sleep well for those naps and get REM sleep, I can't fail.
I am curious, however, why more people don't try the Dymaxion method (4 30 minute naps per day) over the Uberman method (6 20 minute naps per day). The Dymaxion seems FAR less intrusive to me. Not only do nap times fall at better times as far as I'm concerned, there is some time overhead to each nap... the PRE nap activities (undressing, relaxing etc.) and the POST nap activities (reorientation, redressing etc.). Not much has been said about this from the reading I've done. Steve Pavlina did comment that he was not able to move from Uberman to Dymaxion, but it appeared as though he only gave it a few days, when in fact it's possible that one might need to go through an entire new acclimation period. It certainly makes sense. You've taught your body when it should expect sleep and now you're significantly changing that again. I don't think Steve was REALLY interested in the Dymaxion cycle, which is completely understandable, so he just didn't pursue it. The author of Ubersleep, as well, went from Uberman (her favorite) to Everyman (her compromise). While she has nothing particularly critical to say about Dymaxion, she also doesn't address why she didn't consider that schedule. It worried me a little, and from the start Uberman is my backup if for some reason I have issues with Dymaxion, but I have to tell ya, so far it seems as this schedule is completely feasible.
More loft cleaning tonight. Let me be clear about one other thing. My productivity and initiative are noticeably up. I'm allowing the possibility that this could be because of my intrigue and desire for this to work, so I'm not forcing a conclusion, but it is worth nothing. I've been wanting to clean that loft for... let's see here... oh yea... a long time. Granted there is a long way to go before I'll call it clean, but initiating a project that I'm not looking forward to is always a big stumbling block for me.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 3 end
"Amy" whoever you may be (I'm not sure if it's MY Amy or not) made an excellent observation about my last post. My friend who is a Physical Therapist did NOT tell me I need to be eating at McDonalds. He said you CAN eat at McDonalds if you know what to eat. The primary item that ends up turning into stored sugar is the bun. If you ask them for the burger sans bun, they give it to you atop lettuce. I wanted to try this out, as a little variety in my diet... but also because I'm not joining my work cohorts for lunch anymore and I wanted to see if I could sometimes be able to do that and not eat completely unhealthily AND not have an impact on my ability to sleep at my next interval. I personally have decided that I do not want the cheese either as I'm also avoiding processed foods and I don't think I've previously mentioned that.
So... this segment was pretty good. I've currently destroyed the loft as I'm midway through a very thorough cleaning. Must be done... and I'm of a mind to do it.
Surprise of the day will be the lobster bisque that I'm going to start tonight.
Stats
Fatigue – minor
Food - Grapefruit
Water - 24-28 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Good
Health - Minor stomach ache... probably that stinkin McDonalds ;)
Focus - Good
Energy - Good
See you on the flip.
So... this segment was pretty good. I've currently destroyed the loft as I'm midway through a very thorough cleaning. Must be done... and I'm of a mind to do it.
Surprise of the day will be the lobster bisque that I'm going to start tonight.
Stats
Fatigue – minor
Food - Grapefruit
Water - 24-28 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Good
Health - Minor stomach ache... probably that stinkin McDonalds ;)
Focus - Good
Energy - Good
See you on the flip.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 3 start
Nap went well. Talked with Jim more about the whole thing at lunch and gave him my Ubersleep book to peruse as I'm done and can print another if I need to. It seems as though he's surprised how well I'm doing. I'M surprised how well I'm doing... (as I yawn). I do find that I'm sporadically yawning from time to time. No big deal.
I've decided that for at least the short term I need to start stretching more frequently. I'm not so limber, but I feel so much better after I DO stretch that I wanna feel like that most of the day... and one set of stretching just doesn't seem to last that long.
Sleep – 25 minutes. We'll see how this works out
Fatigue – minor.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, legs fine... butt sore.
4.23 miles
195 calories
34.2 carbs
Weight - 258 lbs
Food - (BASED ON MY PT'S ADVICE PEOPLE) two McDonald McDoubles, sans all the bread on both, plus lettuce on both, sans cheese on one of them (as a trial)
Mood - Pretty Good
Health - dandy
I've decided that for at least the short term I need to start stretching more frequently. I'm not so limber, but I feel so much better after I DO stretch that I wanna feel like that most of the day... and one set of stretching just doesn't seem to last that long.
Sleep – 25 minutes. We'll see how this works out
Fatigue – minor.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, legs fine... butt sore.
4.23 miles
195 calories
34.2 carbs
Weight - 258 lbs
Food - (BASED ON MY PT'S ADVICE PEOPLE) two McDonald McDoubles, sans all the bread on both, plus lettuce on both, sans cheese on one of them (as a trial)
Mood - Pretty Good
Health - dandy
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 2 end
So far the day is going really well. Strong mental clarity. Finished reading Ubersleep, which was a great aid. Went through 40 Sleep Hacks, but it's really a hodge podge of stuff that mostly doesn't work together. The single page on polyphasic sleep was very brief and came up with the conclusion that because the majority of people who try to do this fail, it MUST mean human beings "just aren't wired for this." REAL scientific their guys. I guess as most people eat processed junk food, and just can't eat a healthy only diet it means human beings aren't meant to eat vegetables and fresh, unprocessed meat. Good to know. On the plus side, they provide some helpful links and, perhaps most importantly, a link to download a free copy of "Why We Nap" by Claudio Stampi, probably the most comprehensive and scientific analysis of polyphasic sleep. Thanks.
Jim (who works across the room from me) seems interested as I really haven't been suffering like we all thought I probably would be. I'm a little surprised myself that I've generally felt so good. If even I was at step 0 after yesterdays inability to get up for Block 2, I should still have been feeling more fatigue through all these stages. In fact, I definitely feel better today than I felt on Day 2, even if I never really felt as Zombieish as others have described themselves. Perhaps this is because I often don't get a lot of sleep, perhaps I have yet to see the difficult acclimation ahead. I stand vigilant, making no real assumptions, and ready for my body to turn traitor at any moment.
Fatigue – very minor fatigue for a small part of the earlier morning
Food - nada
Water - 36 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Good
Health - Good
Focus - Good
Energy - Good
Jim (who works across the room from me) seems interested as I really haven't been suffering like we all thought I probably would be. I'm a little surprised myself that I've generally felt so good. If even I was at step 0 after yesterdays inability to get up for Block 2, I should still have been feeling more fatigue through all these stages. In fact, I definitely feel better today than I felt on Day 2, even if I never really felt as Zombieish as others have described themselves. Perhaps this is because I often don't get a lot of sleep, perhaps I have yet to see the difficult acclimation ahead. I stand vigilant, making no real assumptions, and ready for my body to turn traitor at any moment.
Fatigue – very minor fatigue for a small part of the earlier morning
Food - nada
Water - 36 oz (36 is target)
Mood - Good
Health - Good
Focus - Good
Energy - Good
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 2 start
I win.
I didn't wake up naturally, but I woke up with the alarm right at 6 and had no trouble getting right out of bed. I'm savoring this little success, but I can't forget that 24 hours ago I was sleeping like... well... I know the phrase is "a baby," but I think it seems more appropriate to say I was sleeping like a... a... regular monophasic person. I'll come up with a name for you people.
So this is how my second block is starting
Sleep – 30 minutes. I'm thinking of testing this at 25 minutes.
Fatigue – minor.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, legs sore actually and butt HATES that seat even with a pillow.
4.02 miles
185 calories
32.4 carbs
Weight - 258 lbs
Food - Oatmeal and coffee (gasp!)
Mood - Strong
Health - good
So I don't know if the soreness is my body's new attempt to stop me from doing one of these new things I've started... For the love of Mary, body, you're FAT. Don't you wanna stop being fat??? Knock it off... And I'm gonna have to figure out some way to comfort my butt... you'd THINK the fat would do the trick. If only I could, like, surf the bike on my tummy... THAT should feel like I'm floating on jello.
I don't know if the coffee is a good experiment at this point. Here are the quick parameters and issues about caffeine because I don't think I've mentioned it so far. Of course we all know that caffeine has an effect on one's ability to go to sleep, and as my next nap is but four and a half hours away, that CAN be a concern. More importantly, and less overtly observed, however, is the theory (fact?) that caffeine can slow the body's pace at entering a REM cycle, and entering REM cycles quickly and efficiently is what it's all about for polyphasic sleepers. On the flip side, and the only reason I'm even considering it are the following two things.
one) caffeine has empirically had less of an effect on my system (probably due to my ADD)
two) the author of Ubersleep mentions that she drinks 2 cups per day and talks about doing so in moderation.
Of course you would do this immediately after a nap, not in the middle of a waking cycle or towards the end. I'll see how this affects my 11:30, but after reading that I'm less worried. I have no intention of drinking much in general... I'm not an addict... but for now I'll consider a cup of coffee or tea probably specifically at this hour until I acclimate. Then I'm sure it'll be very sporadic. To me coffee is really more like a comfort treat than at all a "need." Don't get me wrong, if there is some effect of the caffeine on helping me get a good start to this cycle, I'm all for that too. We'll judge based on the effects later in the day.
I have to bring something else up here. Both Ubersleep and my friend Robalee, a very smart, health focused girl who knows me well, cautioned against making too many changes at once lest some sort of bodily implosion or such... meaning that the idea of starting a polyphasic sleep lifestyle WHILE simultaneously changing other things like... say... starting to exercise, or changing your diet substantially, or your eating routines etc. is a dangerous concept. For me, however, this is proving to work really well so far. I don't feel the slightest bit physically or mentally overwhelmed by this... in fact... I think the idea that my polyphasic schedule has empowered a routine where I can get in 4 small exercise routines and as well evenly spread out my eating, which is now much healthier than before has been instrumental in keeping every aspect going. In addition, I think the exercise helps wake and energize me after naps in this all important acclimation phase. I haven't lost any real weight to speak of yet, but it just hasn't been long enough to judge results of that kind. I can certainly tell you I FEEL better already. By doing all this at once it's hard to know what and how much to attribute to all these different things, but I'm less concerned with that at the moment. After this has all settled in I can experiment to see what changes effect what. In the meantime, all I can say is that I feel that the following reasons are reasons I would give to endorse taking this all on at once.
one) I really do think each of these things is more positively effecting the other than being overwhelming. Spreading meals is helping my metabolism and energy levels, as is exercise, napping is helping force those two on a schedule unlike anything I personally have been able to do, I'm mindful of taking my vitamin supplements, and 4 showers a day with teeth brushing are going to keep my teeth and body cleaner than ever before, as well, as the showers help the "waking up."
two) I think there is a big mental component positively at play here. A big reason I'm doing this is to get healthier, more energetic, and more focused. Putting those together with an extra 6 hours a day is tremendously exciting to me. I feel like by doing these all together I'm making a commitment to myself to not wait in any area to get healthy.
three) I think I'll see stronger and quicker benefits because I'm not waiting to implement these things in layers. The faster and better the progress, the more encouraging it is.
four) I've failed at managing these things previous (except the polyphasic sleep which I've never tried) because creating a ROUTINE to do these things is so important. It seems easier to me to create one new routine, then create a routine for polyphasic sleep, for instance, and when that new routine get settled and established, then have to change it up by adding something else and waiting for that to take hold, and then change it up again to add something else. Instead... one new routine that adds all these things important to you and establish them together. It's so easy to remember that after my nap is exercise, a shower of course, and then a meal.
five) I feel that, if you have some bad habits (like I did) of fast food eating, for example, the nature of the unhealthiness of that will hurt your chances of success in other areas. Isn't that why we aren't supposed to be eating bad? Cause it really saps our energy and health? Energy and health that would be helpful in getting good, productive naps for instance. It seems logical to me that had I NOT changed some of these things, the polyphasic sleep schedule would be harder to acclimate to.
Anyway, congratulations to those of you who made it to the end of this post. :)
I didn't wake up naturally, but I woke up with the alarm right at 6 and had no trouble getting right out of bed. I'm savoring this little success, but I can't forget that 24 hours ago I was sleeping like... well... I know the phrase is "a baby," but I think it seems more appropriate to say I was sleeping like a... a... regular monophasic person. I'll come up with a name for you people.
So this is how my second block is starting
Sleep – 30 minutes. I'm thinking of testing this at 25 minutes.
Fatigue – minor.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, legs sore actually and butt HATES that seat even with a pillow.
4.02 miles
185 calories
32.4 carbs
Weight - 258 lbs
Food - Oatmeal and coffee (gasp!)
Mood - Strong
Health - good
So I don't know if the soreness is my body's new attempt to stop me from doing one of these new things I've started... For the love of Mary, body, you're FAT. Don't you wanna stop being fat??? Knock it off... And I'm gonna have to figure out some way to comfort my butt... you'd THINK the fat would do the trick. If only I could, like, surf the bike on my tummy... THAT should feel like I'm floating on jello.
I don't know if the coffee is a good experiment at this point. Here are the quick parameters and issues about caffeine because I don't think I've mentioned it so far. Of course we all know that caffeine has an effect on one's ability to go to sleep, and as my next nap is but four and a half hours away, that CAN be a concern. More importantly, and less overtly observed, however, is the theory (fact?) that caffeine can slow the body's pace at entering a REM cycle, and entering REM cycles quickly and efficiently is what it's all about for polyphasic sleepers. On the flip side, and the only reason I'm even considering it are the following two things.
one) caffeine has empirically had less of an effect on my system (probably due to my ADD)
two) the author of Ubersleep mentions that she drinks 2 cups per day and talks about doing so in moderation.
Of course you would do this immediately after a nap, not in the middle of a waking cycle or towards the end. I'll see how this affects my 11:30, but after reading that I'm less worried. I have no intention of drinking much in general... I'm not an addict... but for now I'll consider a cup of coffee or tea probably specifically at this hour until I acclimate. Then I'm sure it'll be very sporadic. To me coffee is really more like a comfort treat than at all a "need." Don't get me wrong, if there is some effect of the caffeine on helping me get a good start to this cycle, I'm all for that too. We'll judge based on the effects later in the day.
I have to bring something else up here. Both Ubersleep and my friend Robalee, a very smart, health focused girl who knows me well, cautioned against making too many changes at once lest some sort of bodily implosion or such... meaning that the idea of starting a polyphasic sleep lifestyle WHILE simultaneously changing other things like... say... starting to exercise, or changing your diet substantially, or your eating routines etc. is a dangerous concept. For me, however, this is proving to work really well so far. I don't feel the slightest bit physically or mentally overwhelmed by this... in fact... I think the idea that my polyphasic schedule has empowered a routine where I can get in 4 small exercise routines and as well evenly spread out my eating, which is now much healthier than before has been instrumental in keeping every aspect going. In addition, I think the exercise helps wake and energize me after naps in this all important acclimation phase. I haven't lost any real weight to speak of yet, but it just hasn't been long enough to judge results of that kind. I can certainly tell you I FEEL better already. By doing all this at once it's hard to know what and how much to attribute to all these different things, but I'm less concerned with that at the moment. After this has all settled in I can experiment to see what changes effect what. In the meantime, all I can say is that I feel that the following reasons are reasons I would give to endorse taking this all on at once.
one) I really do think each of these things is more positively effecting the other than being overwhelming. Spreading meals is helping my metabolism and energy levels, as is exercise, napping is helping force those two on a schedule unlike anything I personally have been able to do, I'm mindful of taking my vitamin supplements, and 4 showers a day with teeth brushing are going to keep my teeth and body cleaner than ever before, as well, as the showers help the "waking up."
two) I think there is a big mental component positively at play here. A big reason I'm doing this is to get healthier, more energetic, and more focused. Putting those together with an extra 6 hours a day is tremendously exciting to me. I feel like by doing these all together I'm making a commitment to myself to not wait in any area to get healthy.
three) I think I'll see stronger and quicker benefits because I'm not waiting to implement these things in layers. The faster and better the progress, the more encouraging it is.
four) I've failed at managing these things previous (except the polyphasic sleep which I've never tried) because creating a ROUTINE to do these things is so important. It seems easier to me to create one new routine, then create a routine for polyphasic sleep, for instance, and when that new routine get settled and established, then have to change it up by adding something else and waiting for that to take hold, and then change it up again to add something else. Instead... one new routine that adds all these things important to you and establish them together. It's so easy to remember that after my nap is exercise, a shower of course, and then a meal.
five) I feel that, if you have some bad habits (like I did) of fast food eating, for example, the nature of the unhealthiness of that will hurt your chances of success in other areas. Isn't that why we aren't supposed to be eating bad? Cause it really saps our energy and health? Energy and health that would be helpful in getting good, productive naps for instance. It seems logical to me that had I NOT changed some of these things, the polyphasic sleep schedule would be harder to acclimate to.
Anyway, congratulations to those of you who made it to the end of this post. :)
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 1 end
Well, I made it to the end of the middle of the night. I'm tired, but this segment hasn't been too hard. Twenty four hours ago is when I had my incident with oversleeping, so I'm going to take a few extra minutes to make sure my environment is in good shape.
Statios
Fatigue – tired but no narcolepsy bouts
Food - ramen noodles with 4 fresh mushrooms, a little soy and a little peanut sauce...
Water - 48 oz!
Mood - Determined
Health - good
Focus - Fairly good
Energy - Low
I didn't have (yet) to employ any of the tactics to combat by body's desire to sabotage this experiment. Key is getting up at 6a.
Statios
Fatigue – tired but no narcolepsy bouts
Food - ramen noodles with 4 fresh mushrooms, a little soy and a little peanut sauce...
Water - 48 oz!
Mood - Determined
Health - good
Focus - Fairly good
Energy - Low
I didn't have (yet) to employ any of the tactics to combat by body's desire to sabotage this experiment. Key is getting up at 6a.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 5, Block 1 start
So now we wait...
Something I've grown to love and trust is going to betray me tonight. Like the woman you're truly in love with cheating on you without an ounce of remorse. It's takes you by surprise. It makes you do things against your wishes out of sheer disbelief that this betrayal could be happening. I've grown smarter today, and tonight I come prepared.
As has happened almost every night, a point in time will come when my body attempts to sabotage this life changing event. It's ruthless in the stops it pulls. It wants to scare you, and it learns when you give in. It learns how to manipulate you. And so far, despite all the good parts of this so far, it's won. Let me be clear, as I understand now... I may be completely at square one... or wait... I could be back FURTHER than square one based on where I haven't been strong so far... and like forming an addiction, every failure to do the right thing solidifies the wrong thing within me. It sounds so melodramatic. Had I read these words yesterday I would have rolled my eyes. But it's more clear now. There are people who have tried polyphasic sleep, and failed, enough times that it gets impossibly difficult to succeed.
Today starts day 5, a day that would forever mark the end of the acclimation period. A day that should be a celebration. And yet, it may as well be Day 0.
However... today marks something else significant. It marks the start of war. I can't believe I didn't see this logic before. When I spent a few years in the role of a parent, as cruel as it initially sounds, I looked forward to the days when the little one misstepped... I was ready for them... life lessons ready to be taught. The day she WOULDN'T behave at Meijer... I was ready to nicely and quietly walk our full cart up to the greeter, and to the little ones absolute horror, explain that we wouldn't be able to purchase our groceries today because we weren't able to behave in the store. It didn't even matter than maybe 1% of the stuff IN that cart was for her... and I had that plan all ready... purely waiting to implement it. Life lessons taught that way, in my belief, are quickly and easily learned. All it cost her was a box of Teddy Grahams. I need to prepare myself and LOOK forward to what my body is going to throw at me. Every bit of fatigue, attempt at narcoleptic sleep, whatever... each presents an OPPORTUNITY for me to teach it... teach it what I want it to learn. Every concession, every compromise... and the lesson is still taught, but exactly the wrong way.
Tonight will be different. Bring it on... I'm ready. It's time to kick some ass.
Stats:
Sleep – 30 minutes. Not as refreshing as the period before, but no trouble getting up. Used pzizz energizer (more on that later) for the first time.
Fatigue – none.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, went well.
4.19 miles
192 calories
33.7 carbs (all records for the 20 min workout if i remember right)
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Determined
Health - good
Something I've grown to love and trust is going to betray me tonight. Like the woman you're truly in love with cheating on you without an ounce of remorse. It's takes you by surprise. It makes you do things against your wishes out of sheer disbelief that this betrayal could be happening. I've grown smarter today, and tonight I come prepared.
As has happened almost every night, a point in time will come when my body attempts to sabotage this life changing event. It's ruthless in the stops it pulls. It wants to scare you, and it learns when you give in. It learns how to manipulate you. And so far, despite all the good parts of this so far, it's won. Let me be clear, as I understand now... I may be completely at square one... or wait... I could be back FURTHER than square one based on where I haven't been strong so far... and like forming an addiction, every failure to do the right thing solidifies the wrong thing within me. It sounds so melodramatic. Had I read these words yesterday I would have rolled my eyes. But it's more clear now. There are people who have tried polyphasic sleep, and failed, enough times that it gets impossibly difficult to succeed.
Today starts day 5, a day that would forever mark the end of the acclimation period. A day that should be a celebration. And yet, it may as well be Day 0.
However... today marks something else significant. It marks the start of war. I can't believe I didn't see this logic before. When I spent a few years in the role of a parent, as cruel as it initially sounds, I looked forward to the days when the little one misstepped... I was ready for them... life lessons ready to be taught. The day she WOULDN'T behave at Meijer... I was ready to nicely and quietly walk our full cart up to the greeter, and to the little ones absolute horror, explain that we wouldn't be able to purchase our groceries today because we weren't able to behave in the store. It didn't even matter than maybe 1% of the stuff IN that cart was for her... and I had that plan all ready... purely waiting to implement it. Life lessons taught that way, in my belief, are quickly and easily learned. All it cost her was a box of Teddy Grahams. I need to prepare myself and LOOK forward to what my body is going to throw at me. Every bit of fatigue, attempt at narcoleptic sleep, whatever... each presents an OPPORTUNITY for me to teach it... teach it what I want it to learn. Every concession, every compromise... and the lesson is still taught, but exactly the wrong way.
Tonight will be different. Bring it on... I'm ready. It's time to kick some ass.
Stats:
Sleep – 30 minutes. Not as refreshing as the period before, but no trouble getting up. Used pzizz energizer (more on that later) for the first time.
Fatigue – none.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike, went well.
4.19 miles
192 calories
33.7 carbs (all records for the 20 min workout if i remember right)
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Determined
Health - good
Life Experiment 01 - Day 4, Block 4
My final block of the day went fairly well. I'm still taking a more or less relaxed state to not overburden myself while I do this, so my evening was calm.
Sometimes I feel like this is a lonely road. As supportive as everyone is, no one really relates to why I'm doing this. That's ok.
Somewhere in all this, I missed a segment, so I won't be posting new data as it's data for segment 1 of day 5... see you all over there.
Sometimes I feel like this is a lonely road. As supportive as everyone is, no one really relates to why I'm doing this. That's ok.
Somewhere in all this, I missed a segment, so I won't be posting new data as it's data for segment 1 of day 5... see you all over there.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 4, Block 3
Well, this last block was pretty good.
My nap was excellent. Despite sleeping so much earlier in the day, I was tired about an hour to an hour and a half before my 5:30p nap. I stayed up reading the first half of "Ubersleep" which is an excellent book.
I feel even more encouraged than I did earlier, due to the fact that there really are many people out there that have no only been successful at achieving polyphasic sleep, but that some continue and it is part of their lives.
On the flipside, my extra naps and my setback sleeping in this morning may have pushed off my acclimation period. I must do whatever I can to prevent that from happening again. Ubersleep has many suggestions on what to do to stay on track, especially when Narcolepsy sets in. I'll try to put those into practice tonight. I'm not too worried about being functional for the bridal show this weekend. I could have done a bridal show pretty much any day this week, during the day.
My stats:
Sleep – 30 minutes, got up refreshed about 1 minute before my alarm went off... excellent.
Fatigue – none when I awoke, minimal towards the end of the block.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike
4.08 miles
178 calories
31.2 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Water - 24 oz
Food - Chicken and Rice
Mood - Fine
Health - good
Memory - mediocre
I have less than an hour before my next nap, and the cleaners arrived which simply drove me back into the loft. I'll read further in Ubersleep before my 11:30p nap. The next 2 blocks will be important for me, as they are the hardest. I do not feel any extra refreshment from my unscheduled sleep this morning, so I fully expect to have to employ more stringent measures to stay awake. I cannot wait to get through this acclimation period, and I'm disappointed that I may have really reset my progress today. I stand as committed as ever, however. When Jimmy saw me this afternoon he wondered if the whole thing had exploded and if i was giving up, as he heard me sleeping. I can certainly understand the question. My resolve has not wavered however, and these new books are answering and clarifying and directing me much much better than the scant information I've found on the web.
To quote The Office, "When I return I hope to be a whole new person," to which all my friends and family reply, "Let's hope so." ;)
My nap was excellent. Despite sleeping so much earlier in the day, I was tired about an hour to an hour and a half before my 5:30p nap. I stayed up reading the first half of "Ubersleep" which is an excellent book.
I feel even more encouraged than I did earlier, due to the fact that there really are many people out there that have no only been successful at achieving polyphasic sleep, but that some continue and it is part of their lives.
On the flipside, my extra naps and my setback sleeping in this morning may have pushed off my acclimation period. I must do whatever I can to prevent that from happening again. Ubersleep has many suggestions on what to do to stay on track, especially when Narcolepsy sets in. I'll try to put those into practice tonight. I'm not too worried about being functional for the bridal show this weekend. I could have done a bridal show pretty much any day this week, during the day.
My stats:
Sleep – 30 minutes, got up refreshed about 1 minute before my alarm went off... excellent.
Fatigue – none when I awoke, minimal towards the end of the block.
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike
4.08 miles
178 calories
31.2 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Water - 24 oz
Food - Chicken and Rice
Mood - Fine
Health - good
Memory - mediocre
I have less than an hour before my next nap, and the cleaners arrived which simply drove me back into the loft. I'll read further in Ubersleep before my 11:30p nap. The next 2 blocks will be important for me, as they are the hardest. I do not feel any extra refreshment from my unscheduled sleep this morning, so I fully expect to have to employ more stringent measures to stay awake. I cannot wait to get through this acclimation period, and I'm disappointed that I may have really reset my progress today. I stand as committed as ever, however. When Jimmy saw me this afternoon he wondered if the whole thing had exploded and if i was giving up, as he heard me sleeping. I can certainly understand the question. My resolve has not wavered however, and these new books are answering and clarifying and directing me much much better than the scant information I've found on the web.
To quote The Office, "When I return I hope to be a whole new person," to which all my friends and family reply, "Let's hope so." ;)
Life Experiment 01 - Day 4, Block 2
Never woke up... well... not NEVER... but slept right through til 11:00a. I'm a little disappointed, but that's an unusable emotion. I think I became a little complacent and complacency, Petah, is a poor thing to be doing at this stage.
These are the factors that I believe were involved in the oversleeping:
one) pushing my workout routine: I'm impatient and was looking to step it up.
two) big, heavy, pasta and meat meal @ 3p
three) went to bed fully dressed: I noticed when I finally DID awake how warm I was... shant be doing THAT again.
four) I've been waking up so well with my phone that I didn't keep it out of reach. Must. Get. Out. Of. Bed. To. Silence. Noisy. Alarm. Period.
Boring Stats
Sleep – 5.5 hours
Fatigue – woke up NO more rested than I have been (take THAT you monophasic sleepers)
Exercise - back to 20 minutes on the exercise bike, stretching (which I think I WILL do more of)
4.12 miles
188 calories
33.0 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Irritated but workin through it
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine, except for forgetting to wake up ;)
We'll see how these segments go today. The big question is how far did I set myself back? Tonight I'm going to work on the loft a little bit and get the bowflex ready to go. I'm also going to try to set up some things to help me move around a little bit, like maybe Guitar Hero. For the first time ever I want a Wii. sigh...
Time to get to it. I'll try not too miss as many blogs.
These are the factors that I believe were involved in the oversleeping:
one) pushing my workout routine: I'm impatient and was looking to step it up.
two) big, heavy, pasta and meat meal @ 3p
three) went to bed fully dressed: I noticed when I finally DID awake how warm I was... shant be doing THAT again.
four) I've been waking up so well with my phone that I didn't keep it out of reach. Must. Get. Out. Of. Bed. To. Silence. Noisy. Alarm. Period.
Boring Stats
Sleep – 5.5 hours
Fatigue – woke up NO more rested than I have been (take THAT you monophasic sleepers)
Exercise - back to 20 minutes on the exercise bike, stretching (which I think I WILL do more of)
4.12 miles
188 calories
33.0 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Irritated but workin through it
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine, except for forgetting to wake up ;)
We'll see how these segments go today. The big question is how far did I set myself back? Tonight I'm going to work on the loft a little bit and get the bowflex ready to go. I'm also going to try to set up some things to help me move around a little bit, like maybe Guitar Hero. For the first time ever I want a Wii. sigh...
Time to get to it. I'll try not too miss as many blogs.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 3, Blocks 2, 3, and 4, Day 4, Block 1
Well I've decided to push it a little bit.
I've upped the exercise to a more rigorous 30 minute routine.
6:00a Stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – tired... this is a hard time to wake up
Exercise – Stretching
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice, broccoli
Mood - Quiet
Health - fine
12:00p stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – none
Exercise - none... have to be at clients at 12:30
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - None
Mood - Cheerful
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
3:00p stats
Food - Dinner portion of spaghetti with meat sauce and meatballs
6:00p Stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – none yet
Exercise - 30 minutes on the exercise bike
6.23 miles
269 calories
47.0 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Fine
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
12:00p Stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – some, not bad though
Exercise - 30 minutes on the exercise bike
6.46 miles
277 calories
48.5 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - chicken with rice
Mood - Good
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
By 3:30a I was feeling VERY tired... I used some techniques in the Ubersleep book to stave off sleeping. At 4:40 I went to start my nap early... but right after I laid down I decided I needed to persevere. I whipped out my iPhone and played some poker and stayed the course.
Next blog... let's see how that worked.
I've upped the exercise to a more rigorous 30 minute routine.
6:00a Stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – tired... this is a hard time to wake up
Exercise – Stretching
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice, broccoli
Mood - Quiet
Health - fine
12:00p stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – none
Exercise - none... have to be at clients at 12:30
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - None
Mood - Cheerful
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
3:00p stats
Food - Dinner portion of spaghetti with meat sauce and meatballs
6:00p Stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – none yet
Exercise - 30 minutes on the exercise bike
6.23 miles
269 calories
47.0 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Fine
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
12:00p Stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – some, not bad though
Exercise - 30 minutes on the exercise bike
6.46 miles
277 calories
48.5 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - chicken with rice
Mood - Good
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
By 3:30a I was feeling VERY tired... I used some techniques in the Ubersleep book to stave off sleeping. At 4:40 I went to start my nap early... but right after I laid down I decided I needed to persevere. I whipped out my iPhone and played some poker and stayed the course.
Next blog... let's see how that worked.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 3, Block 1 finish
Well I made it. Not even feeling that tired. Looking forward to my nap of course, but not feeling dead like i have been at this hour. Maybe this it taking hold. Maybe it's just luck.
Fatigue – best so far for this hour
Food - apple with peanut butter
Water - 48 oz!
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little, less than before
Focus - Better than average
See you on the flip side. We'll see how my next segment goes and how easy (or not) it is to get up @ 6a.
Fatigue – best so far for this hour
Food - apple with peanut butter
Water - 48 oz!
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little, less than before
Focus - Better than average
See you on the flip side. We'll see how my next segment goes and how easy (or not) it is to get up @ 6a.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 3, Block 1 start
Well I've made a couple decisions
one) I'm not trying hard enough and I need to get tougher with myself. My goal tonight is NO EXTRA NAP. One of the big reasons people fail doing this is allowing themselves too much comfort on the journey. Acclimation, which is the only important key at this stage, becomes more and more difficult. The attempt to make things easier results in the opposite. I'm too smart for that. I KNOW that I want to acclimate as soon as possible.
two) I need to make the 12a workout as productive as possible. This sets the tone for the hardest segment for fatigue. I also will not skip the shower. I may start taking my first of two vitamins at this hour as well. Apples laced with peanut butter will provide energy after the meal I eat. Music will be key. I need all the tools at my disposal.
I actually think that my resolve to change so many factors at once gives me a further edge over most of those people who have tried it before. The exercise and better eating is providing me energy. The scheduled naps are keeping me on the schedule to DO the exercise. New tools in the kitchen are providing me the ability to cook and the extra awake time is giving me the time to do it I wouldn't take before. It's amazing so far how many things are clicking into place. I was thinking as I rode my basic, but excellent exercise bike that I've ignored for years that if I hadn't made that decision to get it, I wouldn't have it as an essential tool for use now. My friends and resources have been as amazing as they always are, but as well are essential. I feel so grateful for that.
Sleep – 30 minutes, couldn't tell if it was good or not... no memory of dreaming
Fatigue – none yet
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike
4.09 miles
189 calories
33.2 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice, broccoli
Mood - Determined
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
I'm listening to the music from the movie Gattaca and I couldn't feel more like Vincent. I feel like I'm trying to break into a world that I'm not supposed to be in based on my previous failures. But I am determined to get there. And once I reach where I want to be, I will not look out of place.
one) I'm not trying hard enough and I need to get tougher with myself. My goal tonight is NO EXTRA NAP. One of the big reasons people fail doing this is allowing themselves too much comfort on the journey. Acclimation, which is the only important key at this stage, becomes more and more difficult. The attempt to make things easier results in the opposite. I'm too smart for that. I KNOW that I want to acclimate as soon as possible.
two) I need to make the 12a workout as productive as possible. This sets the tone for the hardest segment for fatigue. I also will not skip the shower. I may start taking my first of two vitamins at this hour as well. Apples laced with peanut butter will provide energy after the meal I eat. Music will be key. I need all the tools at my disposal.
I actually think that my resolve to change so many factors at once gives me a further edge over most of those people who have tried it before. The exercise and better eating is providing me energy. The scheduled naps are keeping me on the schedule to DO the exercise. New tools in the kitchen are providing me the ability to cook and the extra awake time is giving me the time to do it I wouldn't take before. It's amazing so far how many things are clicking into place. I was thinking as I rode my basic, but excellent exercise bike that I've ignored for years that if I hadn't made that decision to get it, I wouldn't have it as an essential tool for use now. My friends and resources have been as amazing as they always are, but as well are essential. I feel so grateful for that.
Sleep – 30 minutes, couldn't tell if it was good or not... no memory of dreaming
Fatigue – none yet
Exercise - 20 minutes on the exercise bike
4.09 miles
189 calories
33.2 carbs
Weight - 256 lbs
Food - Chicken and rice, broccoli
Mood - Determined
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
I'm listening to the music from the movie Gattaca and I couldn't feel more like Vincent. I feel like I'm trying to break into a world that I'm not supposed to be in based on my previous failures. But I am determined to get there. And once I reach where I want to be, I will not look out of place.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 2, Block 4 end
Well this segment went fairly well.
Julia brought me some unprocessed peanut butter and apples! Yea! That's a great new snack.
Fish chowder was pretty good.
Didn't drink enough water. 36 oz. is the target per segment.
Fatigue – not too bad, looking forward to nap, starting to yawn
Food - second bowl of chowder, salad, apple with peanut butter
Water - 18 oz.
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little, less than before
Productivity - Pretty good.
Focus - Better than average
Memory - I forgot something that make me decided I needed to note that memory was poor, but I forgot what it was. sigh.
Nap and then exercise, and then shower, and then a serious attempt to not nap tonight.
Julia brought me some unprocessed peanut butter and apples! Yea! That's a great new snack.
Fish chowder was pretty good.
Didn't drink enough water. 36 oz. is the target per segment.
Fatigue – not too bad, looking forward to nap, starting to yawn
Food - second bowl of chowder, salad, apple with peanut butter
Water - 18 oz.
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little, less than before
Productivity - Pretty good.
Focus - Better than average
Memory - I forgot something that make me decided I needed to note that memory was poor, but I forgot what it was. sigh.
Nap and then exercise, and then shower, and then a serious attempt to not nap tonight.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 2, Block 4
Well... I slept, but I just never really felt like I slept. I did what I call "lightly" dream? Maybe... So I'm bracing for a long night. I feel fine at the moment.
I had an exercise mishap... the machine wasn't properly resisting and I didn't notice until I got to the harder parts of the workout where it became obvious that something was wrong. I stopped and did some stretching exercises instead which have been productive.
Stat-a-roos
Sleep – 30 minutes, not seemingly good sleep thou
Fatigue – very minor
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Neutral
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
It's 8p now and I'm doing fine.
My sister hooked me up with a book on this, so I'm gonna try to do some reading tonight. It's called Ubersleep by PureDoxyk and he/she is one of the bloggers that's had success with Polyphasic sleep. Looks like a good read and I'll post interesting things outta there.
Thanks sis. :)
I had an exercise mishap... the machine wasn't properly resisting and I didn't notice until I got to the harder parts of the workout where it became obvious that something was wrong. I stopped and did some stretching exercises instead which have been productive.
Stat-a-roos
Sleep – 30 minutes, not seemingly good sleep thou
Fatigue – very minor
Food - Fish Chowder
Mood - Neutral
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
It's 8p now and I'm doing fine.
My sister hooked me up with a book on this, so I'm gonna try to do some reading tonight. It's called Ubersleep by PureDoxyk and he/she is one of the bloggers that's had success with Polyphasic sleep. Looks like a good read and I'll post interesting things outta there.
Thanks sis. :)
Life Experiment 01 - Day 2, Block 2 and 3
Let me catch up...
Was tired last night... and I didn't feel like bloggin ;)
I took an extra nap again. Felt really tired and I'm gonna work on a few other helpful aids like turning the heat down. Walking from the loft to the office which was a few degrees cooler really helped wake me up.
I also skipped my middle of the night workout. For shame. It's SO hard to think straight when you're really tired.
After my 5:30a nap i did a bunch of stretching exercises instead of the bike and I'm REALLY glad I did that also. I feel a lot better today doing things like standing up. It sounds pathetic, but I've been feeling like an old man getting out of a chair. So we're gonna work that definitely into the routine.
I'm also looking for a posture support... I've had my Physical Therapist looking for a while... I REALLY gotta get with him to see if he's found anything ;)
He's also helping me construct a good eating plan. So we're working on that too.
Here are my lastest stats.
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – very minor
Weight – 256 lbs...
Exercise - 20 mins
3.96 miles
179 calories
31.3 carbs
Food - pasta with meat sauce... it's all gone now
Mood - Good.
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
Nap soon... I'll write more tonight.
Peace world.
Was tired last night... and I didn't feel like bloggin ;)
I took an extra nap again. Felt really tired and I'm gonna work on a few other helpful aids like turning the heat down. Walking from the loft to the office which was a few degrees cooler really helped wake me up.
I also skipped my middle of the night workout. For shame. It's SO hard to think straight when you're really tired.
After my 5:30a nap i did a bunch of stretching exercises instead of the bike and I'm REALLY glad I did that also. I feel a lot better today doing things like standing up. It sounds pathetic, but I've been feeling like an old man getting out of a chair. So we're gonna work that definitely into the routine.
I'm also looking for a posture support... I've had my Physical Therapist looking for a while... I REALLY gotta get with him to see if he's found anything ;)
He's also helping me construct a good eating plan. So we're working on that too.
Here are my lastest stats.
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – very minor
Weight – 256 lbs...
Exercise - 20 mins
3.96 miles
179 calories
31.3 carbs
Food - pasta with meat sauce... it's all gone now
Mood - Good.
Health - minor cough
Memory - fine
Nap soon... I'll write more tonight.
Peace world.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 2, Block 1 start
Top of the morning after the first full day of all this.
Don't think I slept very well. Ear started tickling me near the end, but I don't feel tired so we'll see. Workout was good. I upped the resistance by hand so my calorie and carb burn numbers are higher. I finally broke a small sweat too.
Here are the stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – very minor
Weight – 258 lbs...
Exercise - 20 mins
3.99 miles
180 calories
31.5 carbs
Food - pasta with meat sauce... I know this probably isn't what I should be eating, but I didn't go shop today
Mood - Good.
Health - minor cough, slight headache
Memory - fine
Don't think I slept very well. Ear started tickling me near the end, but I don't feel tired so we'll see. Workout was good. I upped the resistance by hand so my calorie and carb burn numbers are higher. I finally broke a small sweat too.
Here are the stats
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – very minor
Weight – 258 lbs...
Exercise - 20 mins
3.99 miles
180 calories
31.5 carbs
Food - pasta with meat sauce... I know this probably isn't what I should be eating, but I didn't go shop today
Mood - Good.
Health - minor cough, slight headache
Memory - fine
Life Experiment 01 - Day 1, Block 4 finish
Forgot to write this before I went off to nap.
Fatigue – not too bad, looking forward to nap, but not falling asleep at my desk
Food - two rolls, 3 spoonfuls of yogurt
Water - 20 oz.
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little, less than before
Productivity - Pretty good. Split the session between work and internet
Focus - Better than average
Memory - nothing notably remembered or forgot.
Fatigue – not too bad, looking forward to nap, but not falling asleep at my desk
Food - two rolls, 3 spoonfuls of yogurt
Water - 20 oz.
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little, less than before
Productivity - Pretty good. Split the session between work and internet
Focus - Better than average
Memory - nothing notably remembered or forgot.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Life Experiment 01 - Day 1, Block 4 start
Well I'm entering the home stretch of the first full day... I don't really believe that there is anything concrete that I can take from my experience today... I'm just hunkering down for a couple days of difficulty, if not more.
I do feel pretty good about my level of dedication and feel like this will be tremendously successful if my body successfully starts falling into REM sleep right away.
After my 5:30p nap, I awoke upset, wondering how the heck I could have possibly overslept, and then realized it was 5:59 and I woke naturally (although not gently) within 30 seconds of my alarm. I'm chalking this up to total coincidence, but it was still a nice result. I am not fully rested though, and I can feel it. I'm not dragging, but I have a full 5 hours until my next nap.
The exercise is boring and I need to read the manual to jack up the exercise bike so it's more challenging. Not breaking a sweat means I could be getting more out of it than I am. It also really hurts my butt!!! Blast! It STILL hurts.
Sleep – 29 minutes, 30 seconds
Fatigue – kinda tired, but less than prior to the nap
Weight – 261 lbs...
Exercise - 20 mins
3.94 miles
143 calories
25.0 carbs
Food - chicken and rice and broccoli
Mood - Encouraged but vigilant about monitoring fatigue in the next 5 hours
Health - minor cough
Memory - ugh... it took me a while to remember the word "vigilant"
The music from the new Star Trek movie is good at energizing me, so that's what I'm listening to at the present. It's very important for me to remember that upbeat music is a good way to rescue one's self from fatigue. I had a decently productive day, and I'm gonna start with some database work tonight to test my focus and clarity.
I think I'm going to break each block into two posts... right now I'm going back and editing posts and that's confusing. My first post will basically be how i feel after my nap and stats on exercise etc. My second post will summarize how that block went.
Sounds like a plan to me.
I do feel pretty good about my level of dedication and feel like this will be tremendously successful if my body successfully starts falling into REM sleep right away.
After my 5:30p nap, I awoke upset, wondering how the heck I could have possibly overslept, and then realized it was 5:59 and I woke naturally (although not gently) within 30 seconds of my alarm. I'm chalking this up to total coincidence, but it was still a nice result. I am not fully rested though, and I can feel it. I'm not dragging, but I have a full 5 hours until my next nap.
The exercise is boring and I need to read the manual to jack up the exercise bike so it's more challenging. Not breaking a sweat means I could be getting more out of it than I am. It also really hurts my butt!!! Blast! It STILL hurts.
Sleep – 29 minutes, 30 seconds
Fatigue – kinda tired, but less than prior to the nap
Weight – 261 lbs...
Exercise - 20 mins
3.94 miles
143 calories
25.0 carbs
Food - chicken and rice and broccoli
Mood - Encouraged but vigilant about monitoring fatigue in the next 5 hours
Health - minor cough
Memory - ugh... it took me a while to remember the word "vigilant"
The music from the new Star Trek movie is good at energizing me, so that's what I'm listening to at the present. It's very important for me to remember that upbeat music is a good way to rescue one's self from fatigue. I had a decently productive day, and I'm gonna start with some database work tonight to test my focus and clarity.
I think I'm going to break each block into two posts... right now I'm going back and editing posts and that's confusing. My first post will basically be how i feel after my nap and stats on exercise etc. My second post will summarize how that block went.
Sounds like a plan to me.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 1, Block 3
2010.01.18 - 12:00p-6:00p
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – not too bad
Weight – [not checked]
Exercise - None
Food - still chipping away at the chicken and rice, 4 spoonfuls of plain yogurt @ 2:30p
Water - 12 oz.
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little
Productivity - Pretty good. Had a project to do and had no trouble
Focus - Better than average
Memory - nothing notably remembered or forgot.
Back in the office and don't feel like I have to resort to zombie activities yet to stay awake. So I'll be my normal self until I feel fatigue setting in again.
I have no idea whether I'm getting much or any REM sleep. I'm still bracing for tomorrow to be worse, and I can't stave off fatigue with any of my normal methods like caffeine. I think the exercise is helping, although i need to find the instruction manual cause my bike isn't really challenging me in the 20 minute program.
I'm gonna also do some reading about what foods affect sleep and in what way. For example, if I eat fruit, what fruits have a negative impact on entering REM cycles. Steve Pavlina never really approached this that scientifically, and he was a MUCH healthier person at the start, so he never really offered any insight in this regard.
---
It's 2:45 now... and I'm beginning to fade again. On the plus side, i REALLY look forward to those naps and they're really never that far off. Time to do something to wake me up.
---
I didn't find anything meaningful on the internet in regards to diet and what foods specifically affect REM. All I know if to avoid caffeine and alcohol, which I knew already... and am.
I was pleased with my productivity and focus this afternoon. Both were above my late average.
Sleep – 30 minutes
Fatigue – not too bad
Weight – [not checked]
Exercise - None
Food - still chipping away at the chicken and rice, 4 spoonfuls of plain yogurt @ 2:30p
Water - 12 oz.
Mood - Encouraged
Health - Productively Coughing a little
Productivity - Pretty good. Had a project to do and had no trouble
Focus - Better than average
Memory - nothing notably remembered or forgot.
Back in the office and don't feel like I have to resort to zombie activities yet to stay awake. So I'll be my normal self until I feel fatigue setting in again.
I have no idea whether I'm getting much or any REM sleep. I'm still bracing for tomorrow to be worse, and I can't stave off fatigue with any of my normal methods like caffeine. I think the exercise is helping, although i need to find the instruction manual cause my bike isn't really challenging me in the 20 minute program.
I'm gonna also do some reading about what foods affect sleep and in what way. For example, if I eat fruit, what fruits have a negative impact on entering REM cycles. Steve Pavlina never really approached this that scientifically, and he was a MUCH healthier person at the start, so he never really offered any insight in this regard.
---
It's 2:45 now... and I'm beginning to fade again. On the plus side, i REALLY look forward to those naps and they're really never that far off. Time to do something to wake me up.
---
I didn't find anything meaningful on the internet in regards to diet and what foods specifically affect REM. All I know if to avoid caffeine and alcohol, which I knew already... and am.
I was pleased with my productivity and focus this afternoon. Both were above my late average.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 1, Block 2
2010.01.18 - 6:00a-12:00p
T.I.R.E.D.
It was a mistake to not sleep hardly at all Saturday night.
After getting up at 6a, I didn't work out cause I didn't want to disturb Julia that early. So I zombied over to my desk and tried to watch some TV through the internet. I also made myself a bowl of oatmeal with a dab of honey.
By 8a I decided to take an unscheduled nap (which isn't uncommon in the beginning). That helped. I'm going to try to limit those. After that I worked out again.
Sleep – 30 minutes, and another 30 minutes @ 8a
Fatigue – TIRED... but better after nap # 2
Weight – 256 lbs... I musta peed again.
Exercise - 20 mins on the stationary bike
3.82 miles
137 cals
24.0 carbs
Food - oatmeal with a dab of honey, a biscuit, and a grapefruit
Water - 24 oz.
Mood - too tired to have a mood, but then good
Health - Fine
Productivity - unknown, but i suspect it would be low
Focus - too tired for focus
Memory - nothing evident... I'm sure it would be poor
I forgot to take my vitamin so I'll be taking it after lunch.
T.I.R.E.D.
It was a mistake to not sleep hardly at all Saturday night.
After getting up at 6a, I didn't work out cause I didn't want to disturb Julia that early. So I zombied over to my desk and tried to watch some TV through the internet. I also made myself a bowl of oatmeal with a dab of honey.
By 8a I decided to take an unscheduled nap (which isn't uncommon in the beginning). That helped. I'm going to try to limit those. After that I worked out again.
Sleep – 30 minutes, and another 30 minutes @ 8a
Fatigue – TIRED... but better after nap # 2
Weight – 256 lbs... I musta peed again.
Exercise - 20 mins on the stationary bike
3.82 miles
137 cals
24.0 carbs
Food - oatmeal with a dab of honey, a biscuit, and a grapefruit
Water - 24 oz.
Mood - too tired to have a mood, but then good
Health - Fine
Productivity - unknown, but i suspect it would be low
Focus - too tired for focus
Memory - nothing evident... I'm sure it would be poor
I forgot to take my vitamin so I'll be taking it after lunch.
Life Experiment 01 - Day 1, Block 1
2010.01.18 - 12:00a-6:00a
Well that wasn't too bad. Wow did it go by quick.
Here are my stats
Sleep – 30 minutes, quickly
Fatigue – Not that bad... I'm preparing myself that this is typically what happens the first day, and I'm sure there's a little excitement as I WANT this to work...
Weight – 260 lbs... I musta peed
Exercise - 20 mins on the stationary bike
3.88 miles
140 cals
24.5 carbs
Food - someMORE leftover chicken and rice, medium portion... no idea how many calories
Water - I think I'll track how much I drink.
Mood - feeling improved over earlier
Health - Sore throat... but I'm ignoring it
Productivity - unknown, but i suspect it would be low
Focus - seems ok, maybe even good considering how little sleep I've had
Memory - unchanged and poor. My buddy Dave told me good luck with this experiment. I asked him how he found out about it and he told me I told him Friday. sigh...
Just chilled with Julia... watched two episodes of the Deadliest Catch...
I think I'm gonna take it easy tonight. I may do some work, but I'm not gonna start there. Let's kick this pig.
Well that wasn't too bad. Wow did it go by quick.
Here are my stats
Sleep – 30 minutes, quickly
Fatigue – Not that bad... I'm preparing myself that this is typically what happens the first day, and I'm sure there's a little excitement as I WANT this to work...
Weight – 260 lbs... I musta peed
Exercise - 20 mins on the stationary bike
3.88 miles
140 cals
24.5 carbs
Food - someMORE leftover chicken and rice, medium portion... no idea how many calories
Water - I think I'll track how much I drink.
Mood - feeling improved over earlier
Health - Sore throat... but I'm ignoring it
Productivity - unknown, but i suspect it would be low
Focus - seems ok, maybe even good considering how little sleep I've had
Memory - unchanged and poor. My buddy Dave told me good luck with this experiment. I asked him how he found out about it and he told me I told him Friday. sigh...
Just chilled with Julia... watched two episodes of the Deadliest Catch...
I think I'm gonna take it easy tonight. I may do some work, but I'm not gonna start there. Let's kick this pig.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Life Experiment 01.04 - the day 2010.01.17 01
Happy Birthday to me! Well it begins.
I would like to say I'm getting prepared in these final hours, but I got home from the bridal show I worked today @ 6 pm, exhausted, and thought, "Hey... why not start now." So I did.
Here are the results for the very first period.
Sleep – 30 minutes, and not well
Fatigue – Surprisingly better than when I arrived home... that's not saying much though
Weight – Well here it is world... I can't take it back... 261 lbs.
Exercise - 20 mins on the stationary bike
3.87 miles
138 cals
24.2 carbs
Food - some leftover chicken and rice, medium portion... no idea how many calories
Mood - cranky and zombieish, although improved after my nap
Productivity - unknown, but i suspect it would be low
Focus - seems ok, I'm writing this blog
Memory - unchanged which means poor in my book. I had to ask Jamie why I went off on a tangent in our conversation. He knew. Instantly... blast him.
So... it was a long night last night. Didn't go to bed until after 4a and didn't at least even have the benefit of going to bed tired but satisfied with my efforts. None of the printing equipment here worked worth a damn, so I was up an extra 3 or so hours for naught.
Loft is still not spotless as I'd like it to be, so if I feel motivated I'm gonna work on it tonight.
So (probably reiterating from a previous post), here's the deal I made with myself for the acclimation period. I'm not gonna beat myself up over what I get done from a productivity standpoint. I'll track it, but my main focus is staying awake for my awake periods and achieving acclimation as soon as possible.
I'm already feeling SOME benefits of what I'm doing. It was probably a boneheaded move to wanna start this right after a big show, and driving home I was regretting it, but because I've publicly declared and am documenting my progress, instead of making a BAD decision to delay, here we are... 1 nap and successful exercise routine into it. Mind you, I'm not calling ANYTHING a success, but it's one good, non procrastinating decision I've made in place of what would have historically been... not.
Observations so far...
I totally expected that the first nap (or number of naps) go well... I'm SURE I didn't get any REM sleep, despite arguing with my body trying to tell it what's happening. It CLEARLY thinks I'm lying and I expect it to put up a fight. We'll see what tomorrows blog at this time reads... and I'm REALLY looking forward to Tuesday... as I expect to be one irritable mess. I'm glad I started the workout, and I'll do it again at midnight. One episode of the Office (sans commercials) is kinda perfect to start with... a solid 20 mins.
Food. That's gonna be interesting. Steve Pavlina was vegan, and he attributed much of his acclimation success to two things, both of which I lack. He felt his veganism took less of a toll on his body than if he were eating meat. I'm not vegan. I just ate some chicken. Secondly, he had already perfected his ability to get out of bed easily and quickly based on an alarm. He even has wrote a blog on how to do it, which he encourages anyone trying this to do first. I'm not doing that first.
I'm underequipped for food and need to remedy that ASAP. I have no fresh fruit here. I need to make a grocery list so I'm not caught unprepared.
Really... there are two possible ways for me to fail at this, neither of which I intend to have happen.
one) I could not acclimate to get REM sleep when I take my naps. This is kinda outta my hands. I'll adjust anything I have power over to help this, but ultimately it's my bodys decision. I feel confident that it will.
two) I quit. Here's the thing... I'm not quitting unless number one (above) is invoked.
I guess that's why I enter this with such optimism. I don't know ANYONE who would want these extra waking hours more than I do. It really surprised me, but as I query friends, they are all extremely supportive (as they always are), but none of them really see much of a benefit to themselves. Now I see how much of an oddball maybe I am. huh... who knew.
I would like to say I'm getting prepared in these final hours, but I got home from the bridal show I worked today @ 6 pm, exhausted, and thought, "Hey... why not start now." So I did.
Here are the results for the very first period.
Sleep – 30 minutes, and not well
Fatigue – Surprisingly better than when I arrived home... that's not saying much though
Weight – Well here it is world... I can't take it back... 261 lbs.
Exercise - 20 mins on the stationary bike
3.87 miles
138 cals
24.2 carbs
Food - some leftover chicken and rice, medium portion... no idea how many calories
Mood - cranky and zombieish, although improved after my nap
Productivity - unknown, but i suspect it would be low
Focus - seems ok, I'm writing this blog
Memory - unchanged which means poor in my book. I had to ask Jamie why I went off on a tangent in our conversation. He knew. Instantly... blast him.
So... it was a long night last night. Didn't go to bed until after 4a and didn't at least even have the benefit of going to bed tired but satisfied with my efforts. None of the printing equipment here worked worth a damn, so I was up an extra 3 or so hours for naught.
Loft is still not spotless as I'd like it to be, so if I feel motivated I'm gonna work on it tonight.
So (probably reiterating from a previous post), here's the deal I made with myself for the acclimation period. I'm not gonna beat myself up over what I get done from a productivity standpoint. I'll track it, but my main focus is staying awake for my awake periods and achieving acclimation as soon as possible.
I'm already feeling SOME benefits of what I'm doing. It was probably a boneheaded move to wanna start this right after a big show, and driving home I was regretting it, but because I've publicly declared and am documenting my progress, instead of making a BAD decision to delay, here we are... 1 nap and successful exercise routine into it. Mind you, I'm not calling ANYTHING a success, but it's one good, non procrastinating decision I've made in place of what would have historically been... not.
Observations so far...
I totally expected that the first nap (or number of naps) go well... I'm SURE I didn't get any REM sleep, despite arguing with my body trying to tell it what's happening. It CLEARLY thinks I'm lying and I expect it to put up a fight. We'll see what tomorrows blog at this time reads... and I'm REALLY looking forward to Tuesday... as I expect to be one irritable mess. I'm glad I started the workout, and I'll do it again at midnight. One episode of the Office (sans commercials) is kinda perfect to start with... a solid 20 mins.
Food. That's gonna be interesting. Steve Pavlina was vegan, and he attributed much of his acclimation success to two things, both of which I lack. He felt his veganism took less of a toll on his body than if he were eating meat. I'm not vegan. I just ate some chicken. Secondly, he had already perfected his ability to get out of bed easily and quickly based on an alarm. He even has wrote a blog on how to do it, which he encourages anyone trying this to do first. I'm not doing that first.
I'm underequipped for food and need to remedy that ASAP. I have no fresh fruit here. I need to make a grocery list so I'm not caught unprepared.
Really... there are two possible ways for me to fail at this, neither of which I intend to have happen.
one) I could not acclimate to get REM sleep when I take my naps. This is kinda outta my hands. I'll adjust anything I have power over to help this, but ultimately it's my bodys decision. I feel confident that it will.
two) I quit. Here's the thing... I'm not quitting unless number one (above) is invoked.
I guess that's why I enter this with such optimism. I don't know ANYONE who would want these extra waking hours more than I do. It really surprised me, but as I query friends, they are all extremely supportive (as they always are), but none of them really see much of a benefit to themselves. Now I see how much of an oddball maybe I am. huh... who knew.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Life Experiment 01.03 - Preparation 2010.01.16 01
Well I'm getting excited to start tomorrow. Today will be spent getting ready for both tomorrows show and this experiment.
I've made some minor alterations to my plan.
• I've added to the routine I'm making a little bit. Fairly logical things. I'll shower and brush my teeth after the eating and exercising is done. I know this is a LITTLE overly detailed and specific for some of you that might be reading this, but this blog is serving as one of many things that I'm using to help keep myself on the straight and narrow in regards to following the rules. This will improve my teeth brushing frequency and ensure that i do it right after i eat... just a side bonus.
• I've decided in the beginning NOT to exercise after the 11:30a nap. I've tried exercising during the work hours before and ended up feeling anxious about how much time the whole exercise/shower shebang takes in the middle of the day. The other thing I'm speculating anyway is that I'll need exercise for the 12p-5:30p block the LEAST as that's generally the sunniest, busiest part of a normal day anyway. I should have my best energy then. The parts other bloggers have commented is the hardest for energy is the nighttime segment. I'm hoping that exercise and probably fruit as a meal will help combat that. Same thing for the 6a waking... exercise to start the day and probably more fruit.
• I'm contemplating starting with 45 minute naps to increase the possibility of achieving SOME REM sleep, but on the flip side, the point of the naps is to make your body adjust to going into REM sleep immediately... so maybe I'll stick with 30 and see how that goes.
• I'm leaving the option to take an additional 30 minute nap in the middle of the night, as needed. Many of the bloggers that have written about their attempts to acclimate to polyphasic noted this really helped them.
• After talking to my personal trainer friend Aaron, it looks like the energy supplements are not going to work out. They are loaded with caffeine which interferes with REM. I'd hate to prevent acclimation because it simply wasn't possible, so until I acclimate all supplements besides the vitamin supplement are on hold. After the acclimation I will consider a trial IF I find myself unmotivated and unfocused. It prefaces another topic that I will get into over time... the return to my ADD meds (which is another goal). If the polyphasic sleep schedule is going well, and I have every expectation that it will, I don't want the ADD meds to interfere. The GOOD thing about the ADD meds is the have a very short lifespan in the body. Like... short. Measured in hours. Maybe this will allow me to take a lower dosage.
The following is a link to Steve Pavlina's blog where he did a variation of what I'm about to do for 5.5 months. He had great success and I'm going to share some thoughts... specifically the differences between what he did and what I'm about to do, some helpful observations he made that I'm planning on incorporating from the start, some general observations he made along the way (we'll see if I note the same things), and the reasons he stopped and my thoughts on those.
Here's the main page to his blog. Each of his posts are well written and I encourage anyone interested in polyphasic sleep to read them.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/
So. First the differences between Steve's plan and mine.
• Steve is a vegan. If you know me you know I am not. In fact, part of this little experience is to help me improve what I'm willing to admit are poor eating habits. As I mentioned two posts ago, and completely independently from this experiment, I HAVE started to dramatically improve what I choose to eat. But I also really need to improve the regularity and spacing between those meals. Nonetheless, Steve hypothesized that his vegan diet was a helpful start to being able to quickly acclimate to this new sleep regiment. I don't plan on eating vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter. What I will say is this. I'll skip fast food and avoid any heavy meals. I also have already made the commitment to eat much more fish and reasonable quantities (half a filet of a small to medium fish for example). I also intend to stock up on fruit, and not let it spoil. If you read my blog, you'll know what I eat.
• Steve did a variation on the plan I'm doing. He did 6 20 minute naps per day instead of 4 30 minute naps. in addition, he gave an extra 10 minutes per nap for prep. I find that method far more intrusive on trying to create a schedule that minimally interferes with trying to live with all the other monophasic people in my life. It also creates larger blocks of productivity which is something Steve complained about. He was never more than 3.5 hours away from his next nap. There were times he wanted to start a project of some sort but was put off by being within an hour of a nap. I'll have 5.5 hours between naps which is almost 3/4 of an entire work day. I should be fine in that regard. Note: Please note that I am not making my own (re: untried) version of a polyphasic sleep schedule. Mine is strictly patterned off the Dymaxion Sleep System. Look it up. Go on. Steve reported had issues moving to the Dymaxion schedule, which could be because he was so acclimated to naps every 4 hours. I'm going to avoid duplicating that by starting with the Dymaxion and seeing how that goes.
• Steve started this is a social experiment... which is actually one of the reasons he felt it was successful for him. He placed no productivity "goal" which might have influenced his initial impressions of success and minimized the chance that he might become disillusioned if the results weren't what he expected in the timeframe he'd hoped. My goal is somewhat different. Firstoff... let me state that I have NO goal in the next one to two weeks but acclimation. I have three bridal shows to participate in, and with the exception of those, I'm ok with my productivity suffering. My only real goal for that time is to STAY UP when I'm supposed to be up, and GET UP after my naps. Good acclimation to the system is key for me. I'm definitely NOT thinking how great it's gonna be on the second day to be mega productive at 3:30a... cause I know I won't be.
I still haven't cleaned up my living area the way I'd like. I'm gonna tackle that today. The last thing I need is to trip out of the starting gate.
Ok... so I'm off to do that... I may post things like starting weight later today... If not I'll be back to post those things at the official start tomorrow night.
I've made some minor alterations to my plan.
• I've added to the routine I'm making a little bit. Fairly logical things. I'll shower and brush my teeth after the eating and exercising is done. I know this is a LITTLE overly detailed and specific for some of you that might be reading this, but this blog is serving as one of many things that I'm using to help keep myself on the straight and narrow in regards to following the rules. This will improve my teeth brushing frequency and ensure that i do it right after i eat... just a side bonus.
• I've decided in the beginning NOT to exercise after the 11:30a nap. I've tried exercising during the work hours before and ended up feeling anxious about how much time the whole exercise/shower shebang takes in the middle of the day. The other thing I'm speculating anyway is that I'll need exercise for the 12p-5:30p block the LEAST as that's generally the sunniest, busiest part of a normal day anyway. I should have my best energy then. The parts other bloggers have commented is the hardest for energy is the nighttime segment. I'm hoping that exercise and probably fruit as a meal will help combat that. Same thing for the 6a waking... exercise to start the day and probably more fruit.
• I'm contemplating starting with 45 minute naps to increase the possibility of achieving SOME REM sleep, but on the flip side, the point of the naps is to make your body adjust to going into REM sleep immediately... so maybe I'll stick with 30 and see how that goes.
• I'm leaving the option to take an additional 30 minute nap in the middle of the night, as needed. Many of the bloggers that have written about their attempts to acclimate to polyphasic noted this really helped them.
• After talking to my personal trainer friend Aaron, it looks like the energy supplements are not going to work out. They are loaded with caffeine which interferes with REM. I'd hate to prevent acclimation because it simply wasn't possible, so until I acclimate all supplements besides the vitamin supplement are on hold. After the acclimation I will consider a trial IF I find myself unmotivated and unfocused. It prefaces another topic that I will get into over time... the return to my ADD meds (which is another goal). If the polyphasic sleep schedule is going well, and I have every expectation that it will, I don't want the ADD meds to interfere. The GOOD thing about the ADD meds is the have a very short lifespan in the body. Like... short. Measured in hours. Maybe this will allow me to take a lower dosage.
The following is a link to Steve Pavlina's blog where he did a variation of what I'm about to do for 5.5 months. He had great success and I'm going to share some thoughts... specifically the differences between what he did and what I'm about to do, some helpful observations he made that I'm planning on incorporating from the start, some general observations he made along the way (we'll see if I note the same things), and the reasons he stopped and my thoughts on those.
Here's the main page to his blog. Each of his posts are well written and I encourage anyone interested in polyphasic sleep to read them.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/
So. First the differences between Steve's plan and mine.
• Steve is a vegan. If you know me you know I am not. In fact, part of this little experience is to help me improve what I'm willing to admit are poor eating habits. As I mentioned two posts ago, and completely independently from this experiment, I HAVE started to dramatically improve what I choose to eat. But I also really need to improve the regularity and spacing between those meals. Nonetheless, Steve hypothesized that his vegan diet was a helpful start to being able to quickly acclimate to this new sleep regiment. I don't plan on eating vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter. What I will say is this. I'll skip fast food and avoid any heavy meals. I also have already made the commitment to eat much more fish and reasonable quantities (half a filet of a small to medium fish for example). I also intend to stock up on fruit, and not let it spoil. If you read my blog, you'll know what I eat.
• Steve did a variation on the plan I'm doing. He did 6 20 minute naps per day instead of 4 30 minute naps. in addition, he gave an extra 10 minutes per nap for prep. I find that method far more intrusive on trying to create a schedule that minimally interferes with trying to live with all the other monophasic people in my life. It also creates larger blocks of productivity which is something Steve complained about. He was never more than 3.5 hours away from his next nap. There were times he wanted to start a project of some sort but was put off by being within an hour of a nap. I'll have 5.5 hours between naps which is almost 3/4 of an entire work day. I should be fine in that regard. Note: Please note that I am not making my own (re: untried) version of a polyphasic sleep schedule. Mine is strictly patterned off the Dymaxion Sleep System. Look it up. Go on. Steve reported had issues moving to the Dymaxion schedule, which could be because he was so acclimated to naps every 4 hours. I'm going to avoid duplicating that by starting with the Dymaxion and seeing how that goes.
• Steve started this is a social experiment... which is actually one of the reasons he felt it was successful for him. He placed no productivity "goal" which might have influenced his initial impressions of success and minimized the chance that he might become disillusioned if the results weren't what he expected in the timeframe he'd hoped. My goal is somewhat different. Firstoff... let me state that I have NO goal in the next one to two weeks but acclimation. I have three bridal shows to participate in, and with the exception of those, I'm ok with my productivity suffering. My only real goal for that time is to STAY UP when I'm supposed to be up, and GET UP after my naps. Good acclimation to the system is key for me. I'm definitely NOT thinking how great it's gonna be on the second day to be mega productive at 3:30a... cause I know I won't be.
I still haven't cleaned up my living area the way I'd like. I'm gonna tackle that today. The last thing I need is to trip out of the starting gate.
Ok... so I'm off to do that... I may post things like starting weight later today... If not I'll be back to post those things at the official start tomorrow night.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Life Experiment 01.02 - Preparation 2010.01.15 01
I enjoyed my sleep last night. It started late but I got up late. I'm not going to worry too much about my schedule for these last couple days.
I was hoping Julia would do this with me. She has no interest. Most people I'm sure don't... but it was my only hope to make getting UP easier.
Kitchen is in great shape. Worked a lot on it yesterday. Loft maybe today. I want my environment to be conducive to wanting to be in it.
Some initial adjustments that I'm planning:
• For no more than a couple days I'll adjust the sleeping time to 45 mins ea to account for the fact that initially I will not likely fall into REM sleep quickly.
• I'm moving my iPod/iPhone alarm clock back to the loft, but not within reach of the bed. My alarm needs to not only be loud, but also it needs to force me to get out of bed to silence it. If that doesn't work I don't know what will.
I'm planning on having water, energy (and vitamin) supplements at bedside so I can take them immediately and enjoy the hopeful benefits ASAP.
My friend Robalee is hesitant about all this. Her reading about it hasn't spoken favorably about doing it, but I haven't read things the same way.
I'll update more as the day progresses.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Life Experiment 01.01 - Introduction
Well the stars seem to be aligning in a really interesting way.
I stumbled across something today... something that's caused me to decide to change the way I live. Many things have been leading up to this point, something which I'm likening to the perfect storm, but (hopefully) in a good way.
Gizmodo had an article about a "Sleep Suit" which is like a waffled cocoon suit that completely envelopes you. Picture a woman face down sleeping on her keyboard at work. Like being suspended in a pillowy substance that attempts not to suffocate you. Upon reading about it, its purpose was to afford anyone the freedom to participate in the Dymaxion Sleep regiment. What's the Dymaxion Sleep regiment. That interested me and is basically summarized as the following.
Buckminster Fuller hypothesized that people operated with two types of energy. The main, primary source of energy lasts typically around 6 hours of being awake. After that, energy reserves are called upon. He felt that if a person stopped for rest (sleep) after that six hours was up, one would need no more than 30 minutes of (quality) sleep to recharge the primary store.
He apparently pursued this lifestyle for 2 years with the following general observations
• He successfully slept for 2 hours per day.
• He felt more energetic in this Polyphasic lifestyle than his previous Monophasic (1 long sleep session per day) one.
• Challenges ensue trying to maintain this when society is geared completely around Monophasic lifestyles. His business relationships were the motivating force to go back to Monophasic sleep.
Additionally others have noted this about Buckminster's lifestyle during those two years.
• It was his wife that primarily wanted him to stop
• He periodically supplemented his 4 30 minute sessions with a nap if he felt he needed it.
This is all very intriguing to me. I personally am the type of person that would maximize as much productive time as I could. This is for a lot of reasons. I don't think I'm incredibly productive now... perhaps that's my lack of addressing my ADD with medication... perhaps it's not being driven to keep a schedule... perhaps it's poor, erratic sleep... perhaps it's a poor diet... perhaps it's a lack of exercise...
It's probably all of those. Some are easily fixed. Some are not... Some fall victim to my untreated ADD at the present. All are problems I've wanted to resolve.
I've poorly attempted to resolve them... but I'm going to test a new theory. I think by focusing on one thing, and not addressing other things, I sabotage myself. For instance, I'd LIKE to exercise more, but a poor sleeping schedule means I wake up late, and then won't/don't take the time to exercise. Once I'm up and out of the loft, I won't/don't take the time in the middle of the day to pause and go back to the loft to do it. Once evening rolls around, I'm eating the first substantial meal of my day and my body reacts with a food coma (as I'm experiencing at the present moment). That reduces my energy and drive to do anything but zombie around until some late, late hour.
Rinse and repeat.
It's pushed me into a further state of procrastination. I'm fat and I'm not hitting my goals.
Recently I've adopted new eating habits. Fast food is out (as of December 22 of last year). The kitchen has been redone here and is MUCH more cooking friendly. Alton Brown has introduced me to the concept of pouch cooking in the microwave with enormous benefit. In addition, recognizing that I can't ONLY do that, I purchased a slow cooker (re: crock pot) and a rice cooker/vegetable steamer. Eating needs to be easy, quick, and cheap for me to avoid the lure of McDonalds.
So far, so good.
I know the dangers of trying to change too much at one time, and I'm not guaranteeing that this will be a total success, but after reading about the Dymaxion Sleep system and thinking about the other issues in my life, I'm going to do my best to create the following schedule.
11:30 a/p; 5:30 a/p – Sleep (30 mins).
12:00 a/p; 6:00 a*/p – Eat and energy supplement (15-30 mins) or exercise (30 mins) *with a multi-vitamin
12:30 a/p; 6:30 a/p – Eat and energy supplement (15-30 mins) or exercise (30 mins) (obviously the opposite of above)
This basically means I'll be eating/sleeping/exercising about 5-6 hours in a total day. For all of it. That leaves an amazing 18-19 hours of (hopefully) productive waking hours.
I have some things in my favor.
• I have a lifestyle and job that will permit this. I sleep where I work and I don't have to answer to a boss in a formal work setting. I'm sure that's a huge problem for most people that would consider an undertaking like this.
• I've had for years, and of course not used, an electronic sleep aid called pzizz. It generated a never repetitive series of sound waves that are engineered to create faster, deeper sleep. How convenient that there is a pzizz app I have on my iPhone. How further convenient that I can tell it I need a 30 minute program.
• I'm not a really picky sleeper. I don't need the stars to align to generally fall asleep.
• I have a serious desire to lose weight.
• I have a new regiment of energy supplements that I've been wanting to test in (some) replacement of my Adderall.
I have some things decidedly NOT in my favor.
• ADD will NOT be an asset here.
• I've had trouble convincing myself to get out of bed. Setting my own schedule and goals with no one to answer to does not help this. It had been a major setback to the concept of exercising. It will be the single biggest hurdle to success with the above routine. Ugh. I wish I had help here.
• Being fat robs you of energy. It will make success here more difficult.
So here's the timing. It really just happened this way, but I'm sure a horde of psychologists would be scribbling away with differing opinions.
I want to start as soon as possible, yet I have an important bridal show Sunday the 17th. THE 17th. I refuse to compromise the potential effectiveness of that show, yet having another show on the 24th means I need to start ASAP after this Sundays show. Brides don't (I'm guessing) relate to or even LIKE zombies. I best not be one. Yea... so I'm starting this on my 40th birthday on the nose. Sounds desperate. It was coincidence. I'm not phased by 40, and as I can't yet afford a Ferrari, I've decided this is a poor time to start a mid-life crisis.
On the eating front... all small to medium sized, home cooked meals... or raw... or fruit (which is raw)... I've been trying to do the five small meals a day... but I haven't done it. Hard to get that on a schedule without two important things... preparation and alarms.
So that's why I think I'm better off trying to do ALL this at one time. 4 alarms (8 really... 4 to sleep, 4 to wake). Couple the short exercise and eating and I'm accomplishing all the above goals. And I can tailor this as I move into it. Maybe 4 meals with 2 to 4 snacks in the middle. I'll have to see what works. The key is NO big meals.
Hesitations/Concerns
1. Worried about getting up. Have yet to find a method that motivates a mind I feel I have little control over when it's waking up.
2. This requires fairly good organization. I can't eat food that's not here. Forces relapses into old, poor eating habits. How is my organization going to further suffer as I start this. The key is just getting through the adaptation period.
3. I wish I had someone to do this with. Being kicked out of bed would be very helpful. I must find internal motivation.
I'm going to also do the following: Blog my results/thoughts. In the beginning I want to start each six hour period with blog comments. Maybe blog along the way. I feel like Jeckyll. I'm tracking 8 things...
Sleep/Fatigue
Weight
Energy level (from the supplements)
Hunger
Mood
Productivity
Focus
Memory
Some of these are obviously related. I don't care really. They are all important metrics in my life and it will help ME to focus on changes and observations in all these areas based on what I'm doing.
Anyway... the next several days are preparation. If I can create a system that helps me wake up and get moving, I further my chance of success. I'll put water and the supplements by my bed so I can reach over and take them. I'm cleaning the loft (it needs it and I think will help my state of mind).
Good luck Petah. Hopefully this works before you break your brain.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)